Ukyo Married?
by obsidians
Summary: A stranger shows up in Nerima to tell Ukyo something that might change her life forever. Rated M if I decide to throw in some lemony goodness. Love interest focus changed as if characters have started writing themselves, weird. Enjoy, Sid
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Ranma ½ or its characters; Rumiko Takahashi does and I make no money from writing this story.

Thought I would like to start a new series and this idea came to me, it shall be rated M in case I decide to throw some lemons in later chapters. Btw, people keep asking why I choose to write more obscure characters. I like to analyze the more eccentric ones and try and guess why they are as they are. What happened in their lives to make them this way? Then suggest a way to correct this behaviour. I don't like doing long chapters or lots of filler, I like to focus on the character development of the subjects and write lemons of course. Anyone can write Ranma and Akane. But who can give Kuno rational thought and correct his behaviour and give Nabiki a heart? Me!

******

A stranger strolled into Nerima; for what purpose we don't know. He was sixteen years of age and had a powerful muscular body. He had long blonde hair that flowed to his hips and bangs that were brushed to the side, but kept flopping in front of one eye. Those eyes were the blue of the sky on a calm summer's day. He was tall and his features were pretty enough to be termed angelic. His clothing was plain, as if meant for camouflage and the only part that did make him stick out, beside his obviously masculine beauty, was a long object concealed with a sheet that strapped to his back. He moved with grace that bespoke of someone with years of martial arts training. (AN for some reason I pictured this guy as looking like Gourry Gabriev from Slayers)

He examined the area as he walked through the town proper itself; it was nothing remarkable from what he could see. Just a normal small city with the different classes divided, restaurants and stores. He was lost in his examination of the place when a purpled haired girl on a bicycle seemed to fall out of the sky itself. By instinct, he knocked her over, and then realized his mistake. "I'm sorry Miss, are you hurt?" he said helping the teenager up.

She stared at him, as if stunned while he retrieved her delivery box and picked her bicycle up and leaned it against a pole. She still continued to stare at him while he quickly combed her body with his eyes looking for injuries, trying not to linger too long for fear that she would think he was checking her out. He was starting to wonder if she might be a bit simple when she said in a startled voice "You knock Shampoo off bicycle, no one can knock Shampoo off bicycle." He cringed inwardly at her horrible Japanese

He started combing the ground for a bottle of shampoo that she might have dropped "I'm sorry did I cause you to drop your shampoo also? Please forgive me, if it's broken, I will replace it" he said with a bow. He got confused when she started laughing.

"I Shampoo, Xian Pu in Mandarin, but Japanese can't say name properly," she explained.

"My apologies" he said. "Well I must go if you are alright, there's somewhere I need to be" he said, turning to leave.

"You no understand, Shampoo's Amazon and no can be defeated. If male defeat, he become her Airen or husband as you know word. You now Shampoo's Airen" she explained.

He froze and blushed at what she was saying, "Although you are very attractive and seem like a nice person. I'm already married, so you don't have to worry," he explained.

"Well, that good, you have challenge Ranma Airen for me if you not" she said, giving him a dimpled smile.

He looked confused "if you're already married; then how could you marry me?" he asked and turned when he heard anguished sounding quacks. His eyes grew wide when he saw a duck waddling faster then any duck could towards them.

Shampoo quickly hopped on her bike "Is Mousse, Shampoo explain later. Welcome Nerima stranger" she said, taking the miraculously unspilled ramen from him and seemed to take off to the sky. The duck seemed to glare a challenge at our kindly stranger and then flew after her. The stranger could only stare after them stunned, when the duck flew alongside of Shampoo and showered her with rose petals, when he wasn't blowing kisses at her. 'Perhaps this place isn't as dull as it seems?' he thought as he continued his journey, musing where the duck managed to pull the rose petals from.

He had almost reached his destination, when he found a teenaged boy wearing loose black pants laced with brown garters that match his tunic style shirt and a patterned bandana. "Water" he gasped. Our kindly stranger fished out his flask and handed it to him. "Thank you," he replied, as he greedily gulped down most of the contents. "Am I in Osaka?" he questioned the friendly looking stranger.

"No you're in Nerima, Tokyo" he replied cautiously.

"Damn it, Ranma this is your fault" the boy raged, shaking his fist at the sky. The stranger could only wonder why people kept saying the name Ranma.

"Um, I am trying to locate an Okonomiyaki Chef by the name of Ukyou Kuonji. I understand that she has a restaurant around here. Am I heading in the right direction?" he questioned the boy.

"Yes, you can find it by….." Ryoga said, him giving long, complicated directions.

Our stranger wandered around for hours, mystified that it was so far away, when he ended up right back at the same place he had begun. On a hunch, he turned the corner and found the restaurant right away. 'Man the people here are weird' he thought as he entered the door.

He ordered a deluxe okonomiyaki from what appeared to be a transvestite, making his day a little more peculiar then it already was. He tasted it when it was brought to him 'not bad, but could stand some improvements' he thought critically and then turned to examine the chef herself. First he watched her movements as she made okonomiyaki with deadly precision while her patrons applauded. 'Her technique is kind of sloppy, so she would need retraining' he thought just as critically. Then he examined her person. He was relieved to see that she was very attractive with a slim womanly figure and long dark hair and equally as dark eyes. He noticed her breast bindings when she leaned over because this caused her top to part slightly. He wondered what they were for. He pictured them alone in their bedroom at the end of the day, how he would walk up behind her and remove the white ribbon from her hair while feathering kisses on her slender neck. Then slip her top off slowly while she leaned back against him. He would gently remove the bandages from her chest and then slowly massage her poor, abused….He blushed at how hentai his thoughts were becoming. He just continue to watch her, she seemed to be flirting with one dark haired male in particular. This seemed to annoy his equally dark haired female companion, until she called him "dummy" and left with her nose in the air. This caused the male to stare after her with a confused look on his face.

Ranma had noticed the blonde male watching him for over an hour and wondered what his game was. 'Not another challenger' he thought with exasperation, he wondered what he had done to piss this one off as he didn't recognize him. He returned the blonde's gaze with a glare of challenge.

When the brunette boy glared a challenge at him, the stranger decided to leave, thinking that he might be Ukyo's boyfriend. He decided to talk to her in private another day; the situation was awkward enough without having to reveal it in front of someone she was romantically involved with. He nodded politely at the glaring boy and left some money on the table to cover his bill and a generous tip for the sexually ambiguous waiter or waitress and retreated out the door.

Ranma followed the handsome stranger until they reached a vacant lot. He crossed his arms and said, "Well, have you come to challenge me?"

The stranger turned around. "I think that you are mistaken, friend. I haven't come to challenge anyone," he said cautiously.

"Well I'm challenging you then" Ranma said and charged forward with a battle cry. He was brought short when the stranger threw a series of projectiles at him, pinning his clothing to a tree. Ranma looked at them questioningly 'spatulas?' he thought, and then looked nervous when the stranger burnished a huge Ukyo-style spatula at his throat.

"As I said, there has been some mistake; I wasn't challenging you" the stranger said calmly.

"Then why were you staring at me?" asked the still pinned Ranma.

The stranger pulled the spatulas from the tree, freeing him. "I wasn't aware that I was staring, I didn't mean to be so rude. I had things on my mind" he explained with a blush, remembering exactly what had been on his mind. "I was staring at your girlfriend," he explained.

"You mean my fiancée?" asked Ranma. Our stranger groaned, wondering if the situation could be any worse. His eyes flew open in alarm when Ranma added "which one?"

"How many do you have?" he cried.

Now it was Ranma's turn to blush "it's complicated" he explained. "Now was it Akane or Ukyo?"

"Ukyo" he admitted.

"Ukyo is my friend and I really don't like strangers staring at her. What business do you have with her?" Ranma demanded.

"I thought you said she was your fiancée?" asked the stranger.

"Again, it's complicated. Now please answer my question" Ranma requested.

"Okay, but in view of your relationship, I doubt you will like my answer. Ukyo's my wife," he explained.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're Ukyo's husband?" Ranma said in shock.

"Yes, that would be true" he replied.

"But how could she think that she's engaged to me, if she's already married to you?" Ranma asked, his head reeling.

"It's complicated" the stranger said facetiously. "Kentaro Kobayashi" he introduced himself as being. "You must be the Ranma that everyone I meet keeps talking about?" he said to the still confused boy.

"Ranma Saotome" he introduced himself, "I think that perhaps you should come over for dinner at my place? It seems we both have much to explain to each other" suggested Ranma to the newly introduced Kentaro.

Kentaro winced, "yes, I agree. Someone who seems to have two fiancées and an Amazon wife bears explaining. It makes my own situation look rather tame in comparison" he said, allowing the friendly seeming, shorter man to lead him in the direction of his house.

"Ah, you met Shampoo" said Ranma.

"Yes and a duck named Mousse, she literally ran into me with her bicycle. Then a bandana clad man led me on a wild goose chase to find Ukyo's restaurant, which was actually around the corner from where I began. Apparently, it was your fault that he wasn't in Osaka as he meant to be" Kentaro could only stare in confusion when this caused the other boy to collapse on the ground laughing and gasping out a name that Kentaro couldn't make out.

"Are you okay?" he asked, strapping his spatula to his back and helping Ranma up.

"Sounds like you had quite the day. You really managed to meet the more eccentric residents of Nerima; although I'm not certain that Ryoga could really be considered a resident here" he explained.

"Yes, I was starting to wonder if there was something in the water. I wonder what draws all these strange people here?" asked Kentaro.

"I do; again it's complicated" Ranma replied with a wince.

"So in other words, trouble follows you around and strange people are drawn to you?" asked Kentaro.

"You know, that's the best description of my life that I've ever heard. I think that we're going to get along famously" Ranma declared.

"Even though I'm married to one of your fiancées?" Kentaro said finding himself liking the martial artist, with his complex multi-relationships.

"You can have all four of them if you want" Ranma said sourly.

"Four?" Kentaro said, raising his eyebrows at Ranma. "Yeah, I know; it's complicated" he said with a sigh when Ranma opened his mouth to reply.

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die, you vile sorcerer!" yelled Kuno.

"Who's that?" asked Kentaro, looking at the Kendo clad, bokken-wielding weirdo.

"Kuno" explained Ranma with a groan.

"Oh you have them here too? We have them at home as well" Kentaro said distastefully, as if explaining that his town was infested with rats, and then gasped when Kuno plastered himself against Kentaro. He blushed at how Kuno was touching him.

"Fair maiden let me rescue you from his vileness" Kuno declared, touching the lovely girl's chest expecting to find soft breasts and then blushed when all he found was hard, male pecs. He looked up to see the other male looking flustered. "You're a man?" he asked cautiously, he had been too bedazzled by the pretty features and abundant blonde hair to notice masculine body attached to 'her' head.

"Yes, last time I checked. Get your fifthly hands off me you fag!" he cried batting Kuno away with his spatula. Kentaro and Ranma watched as Kuno vanished into the sky, Ranma was struggling against laughter again. Yes, the other boy was facially pretty, but his body was obviously male! 'How blind is Kuno?' he mused looking at the blushing, angry looking Kentaro beside him.

"This happen to you a lot?" Ranma asked him.

"Yes, male and females, it's like I emit some sort to pheromone that draws them to me" he explained. Ranma nodded, understanding fully. "So you have Kunos' where you live?" he asked.

"Yes, I live in Kyoto, they're known for being a very weird, perverted family" explained Kentaro.

"They are known as that here too. So you just witnessed" Ranma explained.

"Yes, there are two Kuno sisters that pursue me endlessly at home. I guess that I should be grateful that they don't have a gay brother like the one I just met" Kentaro said sorely, wondering what managed to set Ranma off on a giggle fit yet again. 'Perhaps there is acid in the water as I suspected' he mused.

Ranma invited Kentaro into the Tendo house and was mildly irked at how all three of the Tendo girls seemed to appraise him longingly, even Akane. "Hello, I'm Kentaro Kobayashi. I hope that you don't mind that Ranma invited me to dinner?" he said giving them a winning smile.

"If you need a place to stay; you can stay in my room" offered Nabiki in a flirtatious way.

"Oh my, Nabiki please stop making our guest feel uncomfortable" said Kasumi, who blushed along with Akane, Ranma and Kentaro.

"Just trying to be a gracious hostess" protested Nabiki in her usual, bored sounding tone of voice.

"Nabiki, Kentaro's Ukyo's husband" Ranma hissed.

"Kind of like Ukyo's also your fiancée, along with Akane, Shampoo and Kodachi?" Nabiki asked.

"No, I'm actually married to Ukyo" said Kentaro, "I'll explain over dinner" he told everyone. "Then you have to tell me your story" he prompted Ranma.

"Not a problem" Ranma replied.

Kentaro sat at the table; slowly eating. He had Saotomes' and Tendos' full attention during his tale. "My family and Ukyo's have been in competition over being the best Okonomiyaki chef in all of Japan for centuries. They got so competitive that they made a martial arts school out of it using spatulas as weopons. This large one was designed by my great-great-great-grandfather" he explained. "Finally my mother invented the perfect sauce and she felt it was time to unite the families and promote peace. So what she did was suggest a marriage between Ukyo and I and in exchange, she would share her recipe with the Kuonji family. They agreed and we were wed before we could even walk"

"Is that even legal?" objected Ranma.

Kentaro winced "sadly yes, I hired one of the top divorce lawyers to check over our marriage certificate and the contract and he said that they are iron clad. Kind of puts a crimp in my dating life having to admit I'm married"

"Why tell girls at all? You could just lie" Nabiki suggested.

"That would be dishonest" Kentaro explained, giving her a guileless blue-eyed stare.

"All of that over a sauce!" Ranma said.

"And to join our two families in the martial arts school" Kentaro said. "But you probably think it is pretty silly to marry two children for that reason," he said with a blush.

Ranma focused on his father "I certainly agree" he said coldly. The he focused back on Kentaro "The thing I don't get is: how come Ukyo doesn't know that she's married?"

"That's easy, her father only married into her mother's family and didn't want his daughter to be used as a pawn this way, so he took her in the night and became a travelling chef. I understand that he lost his business through uncouth means; to a man he had offered Ukyo to in marriage with his son, then stole her father's cart and left Ukyo behind. How a grown man could be so cruel to a little girl, I'll never know? Her father must have been too disgraced to return home, because he and Ukyo were never seen again. It was only recently that I discovered of her whereabouts. Her father's action caused a rift in the families and the marriage was hushed up, but never dissolved" he explained.

Ranma glared at Genma "someone stole his cart, eh?" he repeated. The older male blushed and then dumped a glass of water of his head 'Don't blame the panda' the sheepish, looking panda's sign read.

"You" said Kentaro, he must have been getting used to the general eccentricity of the place, because the fact that a man had just became a panda at the dinner table didn't faze him.

"Yeah, that was my pop and myself" Ranma explained. "I was three at the time. That is how I got fiancée number one, now let me tell you the rest" he said and explained the other fiancées. Kentaro could only listen in fascination, marveling that there was a person in an even worse situation then himself.

"Couldn't you just simply tell the one you want of your choice, get properly engaged and then tell the others of your decision" he suggested. Causing Ranma to involuntarily glace at Akane beside him, then blush and look away before she caught his look. 'Ah, so his choice is made in his heart at least' mused Kentaro, envying him.

"Yes, if I wanted to be killed by a crazed Gymnast, Chef or Amazon, along with the girl I chose" he explained.

"You forgot to mention Akane" Nabiki observed, causing both Ranma and Akane to blush.

"Wouldn't that she's already married get rid of Ukyo?" asked Kasumi.

"Well, that remains to be seen; I'm here to meet her in person and give her to option of becoming my wife in truth. But if she chooses to reject me, then I'll just grant her a divorce. I'm not going to force my presence on someone who doesn't want it." Kentaro explained.

"You should tell her soon" said Ranma, and then stole another involuntary look at Akane.

"You're right; I'll go there right after dinner" Kentaro resolved.

"Just out of curiousity, what sorts of girls do you like?" asked Ranma.

Kentaro blushed "I don't think that the dinner table is an appropriate place for a locker room type discussion" he chided, glancing apologetically at ladies.

"It's okay, we'd like to know too" replied Akane, "though gentlemanly manner are appreciated" she said, glaring at Ranma.

Kentaro thought about it "well, it's hard to say. I haven't been allowed to date for obvious reasons. I seem to be drawn to girls that are really feminine I suppose" he said, and then wondered why everyone started laughing

Kentaro knocked nervously on Ukyo's door, wondering if she'd let a stranger into her house.

"Hi can I help you Sugar?" asked the same dark haired girl from before, she smiled at him in a friendly manner. She still wore the same outfit, but seemed to have removed her breast binding, Kentaro thought, and then forced himself to stop checking that area. He focused his eyes on her politely smiling face, hoping that she hadn't spotted his little indiscretion.

"Hello, my name is Kentaro" he said, waiting to see if the name meant anything to her; it didn't.

"Are you a new challenger of my Ran-chan?" she asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose so. Though it's not him that I seek" he said gathering up the courage to tell her what Kentaro was to her. He thought if he just spat it out, she would be startled at first and then invite him in so that they could talk. . He would present his evidence and they would decide what to do about the situation like reasonable human beings. He doubted a decent young woman would invite a strange man into her apartment otherwise. At least that is what he thought would happen when he opened up his mouth and said "Ukyo, I am your husband." He waited for her reaction and waited and waited.

Sadly, what actually happened was she delivered an open handed slap to his left cheekbone and screamed "you jackass!" at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the kind reviews, yes this is a very improbable situation, and it is loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers. Kentaro I did make up, but stole the Slayers Gourry's looks, because he's hot for a blonde. See? I only steal from the best.

******

Kentaro could only stare at her stunned, and then slowly touched his sore cheek, as if not believing that she had actually slapped him.

"Why did you hit me?" he asked her as calmly as his temper would allow.

"Who sent you? Shampoo? Akane? No, it must be Kodachi!" she said in triumph. "Hiring a manwhore to pretend that he's married to me, to get rid of Ranma's cute fiancée is just so her style!" she said, glaring at him like he was a bug that she caught munching in her vegetable patch.

"Manwhore? How dare you! I most certainly am not!" Kentaro said sharply.

"Oh come on Sugar, the signs are all there" she said with a smirk and walked around him, examining him from every angle. "My, I do have to admit that she choose well. You must have tons of customers with those pretty features, masses of hair and tight, hard bod. Not to mention your cute tush" she said and actually had the nerve to pat it.

Kentaro blushed furiously and sprang to face her, as if she had scalded him. "I don't know why you think I'm a manwhore; but I assure you that I'm not! I look this way because of genetics. I have never sold myself to anyone in my life nor do I know a Kodachi!" he said firmly.

She leaned on the doorframe and said "well I have to admit that you're quite the actor. Your virginal act is good" she praised.

This caused him to blush further 'how did she know?' he wondered. He drew himself to his full height and said "my name is Kentaro Kobayashi"

This time he got a reaction; she went pale and seemed to fall against the doorframe "Kobayashi?" she gasped. "The family that invented Okonomiyaki?" she said in a weak voice.

"Oh? I see you've heard of us!" he said sarcastically. "I came here because our parents have a lot to answer for and we have some decisions to make, wife," he said the last part facetiously.

Ukyo studied him; he didn't seem to be anything but sincere. She reached a decision "you can come in; but no funny business" she cautioned, holding open the door for him.

"Funny business?" he said with a snort. "It seems to me that you were the one grabbing me, not the other way around" he said and edged around her, keeping his butt out of her reach in case she went into grope mode again. After meeting a Kuno in Nerima, Kentaro wasn't taking any chances.

Uyko couldn't resist smiling at his keeping her at arms length, she brewed them some tea and sat him down at the table. "So why are you under the impression that we're married?" she asked causally.

"Because we are" he said, pushing the documents towards her. Ukyo's eyes went wide to see a marriage certificate issued in both their names and an executed contract drawn between their families.

"These are easy enough to fake, anyone with a computer can make them" she said with a snort and thrust them back at him.

"Why would I bother doing that? It's not like you're the Queen of Spain or anything. Why would I make up fake evidence of a marriage to a stranger? Don't flatter yourself!" he said. "We were married by special license when we were both barely a year old to unite our families, so that they would put aside their differences and work together. Well that and your family really wanted the recipe for my mother's secret sauce" he added.

"Oh yeah, then why haven't I hear anything about this before?" she said her temper flaring.

"Your father didn't approve, so he stole you away in the night and we haven't heard from you since. The only reason why you were found was because you won an okonomiyaki contest and it made the papers. Do you know how long we've been searching for you? Ask your father if you don't believe me" he suggested

She bowed her head "my father's dead; he died shortly before I moved to Nerima" she said in a grief filled voice.

Kentaro calmed down immediately, "I'm sorry" he said softly and set his hand on her shoulder. "You should get in touch with your mother then; she'll tell you the truth. She's been worried sick about you; you're the only child she has" He narrowed his eyes at her when she went chalk white and the shoulder beneath his hand went ridged.

"How can I ask her?" she demanded. "My mother's dead, my father told me so!"

Kentaro started lightly stroking her shoulder, as if seeking to help her release the tension from her body "your mother's alive and well. She just turned 36 this year and hasn't changed a bit from when I was a little kid" he said gently.

She slapped his hand way and stood up "you're lying! She died the night my father and I left, he told me!" she screamed at him.

Kentaro didn't even think twice and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number "Kuonji-san, its Kentaro. Yes, I'm doing fine. Yes I packed plenty of clean underwear" he said rolling his eyes at Ukyo. Ukyo just sat there, not sure whether to believe him or not. "I'm in Nerima with Ukyo; she was told by her father that you're dead. You should talk to her" he said, holding his phone out to Ukyo. She took it with nerveless fingers and held it to her ear. For the first time in many years she heard Suki Kuonji's voice, "Ukyo?" The voice on the other end sounded just as disbelieving as Ukyo did.

Ukyo started sobbing "Mama?"

Kentaro excused himself and went downstairs to the restaurant to read a book while he waited. About an hour later he was joined by Ukyo, whose eyes looked swollen from crying.

"You're right; she is alive and we are married. She's going to be here in a few weeks, she apologized about not coming with you to prepare me" she said looking straight ahead, and then she made herself look at him. She was surprised to see not a look of smugness on his face, but concern.

"Yes, she couldn't come; her niece, your baby cousin is sick and she went to take care of her. I'm sorry you had to find out this way" he said honestly; wishing her could hug her, but wasn't sure what sort of reception that would receive.

"So this is it? I'll never marry Ranma because I'm already married to stranger? Are you the one they sent to drag me home to make me into a proper housewife?" she asked dully.

He shook his head "no, I just wanted to meet you, not make you into something you don't wish to be. I have no claim on you as far as I'm concerned, we can get divorced whenever you wish" he explained.

"My mother insisted we shouldn't do that" she said uncertainly.

"Ukyo we are of age to get a divorce and they shouldn't have been able to marry us in the first place. You're as much a stranger to me as I am to you. I don't want to screw up any relationships that you made in your ignorance. If a divorce is what you want, a divorce you shall get" Kentaro explained.

She found herself liking the blonde man, grudgingly that is. "Well, I'm sure that a cute guy like you must have 'relationships' to and they would be glad for you to be single" she teased.

He smiled almost sadly "there have been many girls who would have liked to have dated me and a few I would have liked to have dated as well, but in truth, there's no one. When I lived at home and girls came around me, my parents and your mother would tell them I was unavailable. It got so that I started doing it myself" he explained.

She realized that he hadn't been acting earlier "so what would you do after the divorce?" she asked him curiously.

"Go on dates and see where they lead to" he said with a shrug. "I've never been on one and wouldn't mind trying" he said almost wistfully.

She smiled at how naive he appeared to her, and then got sad when she realized that she'd never been on a date before either. "I'd like to try going on one too" she admitted.

He looked at her "your fiancée's never taken you out on a date?" he inquired, and then remembered Ranma had three others. "Never mind, he explained his numerous engagements to me" he admitted.

She sprang up and swung her spatula at him, only for him to block it with his own. She gasped at the sight of it. Any doubts she'd had as to his identity up to that point flew out of the window. However she wrenched herself back to the present. "How dare you tell Ranma that we're married! Are you trying to kill my chances with him! Bad enough I have to compete with those others bitches without them knowing about this!" she said, tears stinging her eyes as her hopes of Ranma marrying her and them opening a restaurant together evaporated.

He plucked her spatula from her hands and sat her in a booth. He sat opposite her and rubbed her suddenly cold hands with his own, she let him. "I only told him because he was challenged me about my stupid gawking at you; well he thought it was directed at him. I've already told him that I'll give you the option of becoming my wife in truth and if you don't want to, then we'll get divorced immediately. We could just file a no-fault divorce and you would be free by the end of the day" he said.

"My mother made me promise to wait until she got here" she said gazing down.

"I've waited fifteen year, I can wait a few more weeks" he said with a shrug. Do you mind if I stick around Nerima? I could help you in the restaurant, I don't need to be paid" he requested.

Ukyo smiled in uncertainty "is it true that your family has more money than the gods?"

He shrugged "maybe a couple of dollars"

"I don't have any objections to your helping out, but why do you want to stay in Nerima?" she asked.

"I don't know, I've met some of the strangest people I ever have in my life here and I get the impression that I'm only scratching the surface. There is something compelling about this place that seems to draw people in" he said.

"I know what you mean" she said. "Where are you going to stay?" she asked.

"I'll find a hotel" he explained and turned to gather his stuff. "Not Nabiki Tendo's room" he said with a frown.

"You could stay here. I have a spare room now that Konatsu, my waiter moved in with his girlfriend" she suggested

Kentaro blushed "I don't think that it would look right, a strange male moving in with you when everyone thinks that you're engaged to Ranma" he said with hesitation.

"Who cares what a bunch of jackasses think? We could always tell people we're cousins or something" she suggested.

"Are you sure? If people find out that I'm your husband, then they're going to wonder about us and that could lead to problems between Ranma and yourself" he pointed out.

"It'll be fine if we don't act like it" she suggested.

"Okay, I promised not to sneak into your room or anything" he promised.

She snorted "like I would invite you! Your room is the girly pink one at the top of the stairs" she said.

"Girly pink?" Kentaro asked raising his eyebrow.

"Konatsu's a cross-dresser, I told him that he could decorate his room however he wanted" Ukyo explained.

Kentaro looked sourly at the room, it was a pink overload, there were baby pink ruffled drapes, a matching canopy on the bed with matching carpeting. If that wasn't enough, everything in the room had either been painted pink, including the walls, or had a skirts or a doily added to it. He winced "I guess that no one will suspect me of being your husband when they think I'm your gay cousin" he said drily.

Ukyo roared with laughter. She'd been feeling a bit lonely since Konatsu had moved out. "Hey it's just a room; you aren't going to become any less masculine sleeping it in just because it's pink" she said in amusement.

"I don't know about that, I can feel my manhood about to drop off and I haven't even been in the room yet" he said sourly. "Can't I at least put the teddy bears somewhere else?" he asked. There was a whole nightmarish wall of glassy eyed pink teddy bears of various sizes stacked alongside of the bed.

"Sorry, small apartment, all storage area is intended for stock" she said somewhat sadistically. "Good night jackass" she said facetiously.

"Good night jerk" he said entering the room and closing the door. Ukyo couldn't resist taking one more look at his butt; she could appreciate a nice looking guy as much as the next girl, but was a butt girl in the end. ;P


	4. Chapter 4

Kentaro poured himself a cup of coffee; he'd been forced to purchase a coffee maker due to his 'roommate's' preference for tea in the morning. He'd been up for hours and had trained for a bit that morning, went for a jog, and then interviewed a gym that he was thinking of joining on a short term contract. 'Anything to keep his boyish figure' he thought with a grin and thanked the gods that he was a morning person.

"Good morning Cuz" he greets the non-morning person who joined him beneath her cloud of gloom.

"Nothing good about it!" Ukyo snarled, eyeing the coffee that he drank. "How can you drink that swill?" she demanded.

"I spent a year in America on an exchange program to learn to speak English, I got hooked on the stuff" he explained.

"I don't see why you don't drink the instant stuff then? I mean, you had to buy a fancy machine just to make it," she said, as if scandalized.

"That fancy machine, as you term it, is just a standard coffee maker you can find in any dollar store for about the equivalent of twenty American dollars. It isn't like I bought the machine to grind the coffee beans with. You make it sound like I plopped down a full brass espresso bar in your kitchen." Kentaro explained while he poured The Crabby One the oolong tea she was addicted to, as had become their habit in the mornings. He'd been there a few days and they were slowly getting used to each other's habits. It irritated her how cheerful he was in the mornings and it amused him how irritated she became about this. She glared at him, it was seven in the morning and he was fully dressed in black cargo pants and a long sleeved white shirt, without a hair out of place. He practically glowed with good health and easy humour. She glanced down at the ancient ratty terry cloth bathrobe that had belonged to her father, she liked to drape it over her nightshirt in the mornings and go down the stair to drink her tea in a state of as is. She didn't even bother to brush her hair, so she was sure it was a lovely snarl. She glared at her immaculate tablemate, feeling like a plain girl forced to sit next to the prom queen. He saluted her with his mug of coffee and went back to doing the crossword of the American newspaper that he had spotted at a newsstand during his morning job.

She studied him; he had the face and hair of an angel and the body of a Greek god, that was enough for her to hate him right there normally. Then there was the fact that he was a skilled martial artist in the same form as herself. That he was intelligent (I skipped two grades, so I'm taking a year off to travel, he'd informed her) and spoke a couple of languages. That he was rich. All of these things should have made her hate him, but the worse part was that she couldn't. He was also kind, compassionate, funny and affable. She couldn't hate him,; as much as she tried.

She sighed and went to get ready for school. She came downstairs to a wonderful aroma coming from the restaurant, "what're you making?" she asked. She'd given him permission to use her kitchen as he was her relief chef and she wanted him to get the lay of the kitchen.

"American breakfast style okonomiyaki, Americans go nutty for anything with eggs, bacon and cheese on it" he explained. "I thought that you might like to eat one before school" he said and slid it onto a plate with practiced skill. Ukyo took a bite and almost shuddered with pleasure, it was like there was an orgasm going on in her mouth! 'Yep he can even cook like a dream' she thought, shooting him a look of displeasure. She opened her mouth to tell him what she thought of his weird okonomiyaki, when there was a knock at the restaurant door. She eased it open to see a family standing out front.

"Hi, we were walking past and smelled your wonderful cooking. Are you were open for breakfast by any chance?" the woman asked politely.

Ukyo was about to open her mouth to say that they weren't normally open until after school; when Kentaro stepped up beside her. "We aren't normally, but today's your lucky day" he said opening the door.

"But, but" protested Ukyo

"Relax, I'll handle it. I'll close after they leave; you know that you should never turn customers away. That's the first rule of being a restaurant owner" he chided. He pulled a hair tie from his pocket, tied his hair into a ponytail, and then went to show them to their table.

"Hi folk, as we don't normally serve breakfast; I'll be your waiter and your chef. I promise to be quick" he said with a friendly smile and took their orders.

Ukyo paused, she'd yet to see him actually multiple orders of okonomiyaki at the same time. She gasped when his hands became a blur and the okonomiyaki seemed to fly onto the plates by themselves. The family also gasped, and then applauded when he served it to them. He cracked up and took a bow. Ukyo left for school fuming, giving Kentaro a mental punch in the face. He not only could cook, but also was faster at it then her and he was better with people.

She was still fuming when she returned to a packed restaurant and people making comments like "did you hear they have a new chef? He's even better then the last one!" She her jaw hit the floor when she saw everyone crowded around the grill. They were cheering Kentaro on while Konatsu served food with breakneck speed. "Hi Ukyo" he said without missing a beat.

"How long have you been open?" she inquired through gritted teeth.

"Ever since you left. People kept on coming in, then Konatsu arrived early and has been helping me ever since, the place has been hopping!" he said, his hands still flying as he explained this to her.

"I can take over now," she pointed out.

"No problem" Kentaro said and handed her the orders and ducked out from behind the grill. Ukyo almost balled the papers in her fist when she heard people whisper "aw, he's leaving" and the teenaged females present seemed to head for the door. "We'll talk about this later" she said to him coldly as she went past.

Kentaro didn't stop working, but helped Konatsu with the overloaded tables and the teenaged girls who'd returned, seem to migrate to these. He flirted and took the orders from her customers with a flip of his long hair and a sashay of his cute butt. Ukyo watched him reduce thirty something mothers to giggling schoolgirls, by saying with a wink "and what would your sister like?" to the teenager beside them. The tips seemed plentiful and these he gave to Konatsu, who nodded gratefully.

After the dinner shift was done, she made them some tea and sat him down. "Kentaro, according to the receipts, we did a record day in sales. However that being said, you had no right to run my restaurant without my permission. This isn't one of your family's restaurants that you can just run it for practice and then go home to the comfort of family wealth. This is my restaurant, this is my livelihood and Konatsu is my employee. I pay his salary and for supplies and make mortgage payments on this establishment. I was very lucky that my father kept up his life insurance premiums when he died, if not this restaurant wouldn't exist. Do you understand what I'm saying?" she said quietly.

"Yes, I was a jerk and behaved like a jackass. You're right; I should have gotten in touch with you before deciding to keep your restaurant open. Just people kept on dropping in and I didn't want to disappoint anyone, so I kept on cooking and the next thing I knew you were back. I have some problems; I really hate letting people down and I'm a high-energy person. I guess that I also kind of miss my guy friends, I have a whole bunch that I normal hang out with at home and they keep me out of trouble. I promise I shall never do anything in your establishment without your express permission, as long as I'm your guest"

"That's fine. Now I do need a few favours from you. Could you teach me the recipe for the breakfast okonomiyaki?"

"Sure" he said. "What's the other favour?"

"Do you mind working as a waiter during the dinner shifts?"

"Of course not, I told you I would do anything that you want me to do around here. I used to have to wash dishes in one of the restaurants when I was really young on my mother's ordesr. Yes, I know how to scrub out toilets too" he said with a smile.

"Great, this brings me to my final request. Could you wear tighter pants from now on?" she asked with a blush.

He raised his eyebrow at her "tighter pants?" he inquired. "I guess that explains Konnie's outfits"

"Konnie?" inquired Ukyo.

"Konatsu, he asked me to call him that" he explained.

"Really? He never asked me to"

Kentaro heard a sobbing coming from outside and walked to the door, he was somewhat startled to see a longhaired guy wearing a white robe. He was on his knees in the middle of the street sobbing his heart out. Kentaro looked at Ukyo questioningly.

"Its just Mousse, Shampoo probably ditched him and he's upset again. Just ignore him, he'll go home soon" she said causally.

"You mean the guy gets this upset on a regular basis and no one tries to help him or at least talk to him?" Kentaro asked incredulously.

That gave Ukyo pause; she didn't recall anyone trying to help him. Everyone was so used to Mousse making a fool of himself that no one questioned it, it was practically an everyday thing in Nerima.

"Wait, I thought that Mousse was her pet duck?" Kentaro asked confused.

"He is, but he's a man too. It's complicated" said Ukyo. Kentaro studied the heartbroken man; there was something familiar about him, this he repeated to Ukyo. She shrugged "he's a longhaired Chinese man, they all pretty much look the same to me" she said with a shrug.

Kentaro knelt down beside the sobbing man and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. The male turned his tearstained face towards him; he was startled that someone was asking this of him, no one ever did. "My name is Kentaro, I'm Ukyo's cousin who's staying with her" he explained.

"I guess I'm alright" Mousse replied, Kentaro's concern had interrupted his misery.

"Mousse, you look familiar to me. How do you pronounce your name in your language?" Kentaro asked.

"Mu Tsu" he explained, confused how this person he had just met could possibly know him. "Or is it that you think that all Chinese people look the same?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, I know a Mu Sheh in Kyoto and you look quite a bit like him" Kentaro explained.

"He's my cousin!" Mousse said, his eyes getting wide.

"Cool, I love that guy. He got me hooked on this crazy trivia game that they play in bars and restaurants in America"

"NTN Trivia" Mousse stated.

"Yep, buzztime. Can't tell you how many nights of sleep I missed because we were playing it on his satellite hook up. Man its good that we could both speak English or we would have been sunk" he said with a shake of his head. "Hey, I have it on satellite connection on my laptop. You interested?" he asked.

Mousse was so surprised that anyone would ask him to do anything with them, except tag team another marital artist, that all he could say was "you mean me?" in a startled voice.

"Of course, I don't really know anyone in Nerima and would love to play with you if you know English and know the game. Besides I always love fresh ass to kick," Kentaro said with a persuasive smile. "However we do need one thing to make our game complete, according to your cousin"

"Cream Soda" they both said together. "I know where to buy it, I'll go get it while you set up the game" said Mousse and scurried off happily.

Ukyo was rather mystified by the exchange. 'So Mousse is a nerd? Who knew?" she mused, suddenly understanding the thick glasses. "I can't believe you just asked Mousse to hang out with you!" she said.

"Why not? He seems like a nice guy, a little weird, but nice" said Kentaro. "We can stay in my room if he bothers you" he volunteered.

"That's not the problem, he...." Ukyo started, but then realized that she didn't really have anything bad to say about the guy, she didn't really know him. She just Mousse's constant whining annoying. "Nothing, you can use the restaurant" she volunteered.

"Thanks Ukyo" he said giving her a hug on impulse. Ukyo was surprised at the feeling of solid male flesh against her own. The only male she ever hugged was Ranma, but he seemed to always dart away when she did. So it was a novelty for Ukyo to have a male hug her. who didn't run like a chicken. As for Kentaro, his brain registered that she must have removed her bindings because her breasts felt surprisingly full, warm and soft against his own chest. She smelled like vanilla he realized, he fought the impulse to hug her tighter and released her quickly. "I should go set up my laptop" he said, pulling away abruptly.

"Good idea" said Ukyo, wondering why she enjoyed a simple hug so much.

Mousse knocked on the door burnishing to large bottles of cream soda, Kentaro answered it "come on in, time for me to kick your ass" he bragged.

"Oh yeah, I may have horrible eyesight but I have a photographic memory for what I can see" Mousse retorted.

They started playing "so I hear you can become a duck?" asked Kentaro as causally as he could.

Something in Mousse's eyes shut down, he'd hoped he had finally found a friend; instead it was yet another person mocking him. "Yes, I suppose you find that funny" he said defensively.

"No I think its cool, its like something out of one of those animes. Can you fly?" he asked enthusiastically.

Mousse searched for signs of deception in Kentaro's face, but saw only curiousity. "Yes I can, it's the only part I like. Let me explain how the curse works...." Mousse explained it.

"That's wicked! Ranma becomes a girl? Is she hot?" Kentaro asked.

"Yes, she's a short, buxom redhead who has the same facial features as him" Mousse admitted.

"Sounds hot, and bit disturbing at the same time. It would be kind of hard talking a guy you like and then seeing him turn into a cute girl" Kentaro said with a shudder.

"What do you like in a girl?" asked Mousse out of curiousity.

Kentaro answered, "I like feminine girls, lots of lace and ruffles on their clothing, a bit of make up and softly, styled hair. How about you?" he asked.

Mousse turned red, "I like Shampoo" he explained.

"Hey yeah Ranma told me about her kiss thing. Hope you get her man; she's hot. Hey I'm not interested!" Kentaro assured Mousse when he glared a challenge at him.

"Would you jackasses keep your locker room talk for the locker room!" said Ukyo with a little more vehemence then she'd intended.

Both boys blushed "we're sorry" they replied. Ukyo returned to reading her book, she had originally been reading in her room, however the sound of companionable laughter had drawn her into joining the boys in the restaurant. Even though all she could really understand of what they were saying was the occasional word, so it would be like "blah blah blah President Ronald Reagan blah blah blah." Still she couldn't stop watching them. Kentaro seemed to be happier now that he had a friend to hang out with. As for Mousse, she had never seen him smile, let alone laugh; to see him do both in a relaxed comfortable atmosphere was kind of special. There was a loud knocking on the door, all three martial artists leapt to their feet. Carefully Ukyo opened the door, a figure slumped forward.

"Ah finally I found the world famous restaurant, Jin Jin in Okinawa! I would like an order of your famous squid and a glass of water" he said with a gasp.

"Hi Ryoga" said Ukyo, pouring a glass of their cream soda and handing it to him. He gulped it down at looked at the company assembled.

"I'm in Nerima aren't I?" he questioned of the people staring at him.

"Yes jackass, you're in my restaurant. You know Mousse, but I'm not sure that you know my cousin Kentaro" she introduced.

"I know you; you gave me water. Looks like you found the restaurant alright" Ryoga said.

"Yes, after several hours. Your sense of direction is horrible" Kentaro stated.

"My sense of direction is just fine!" he protested. He couldn't understand when Ukyo and Mousse just looked at each other and cracked up.

"Don't worry about it, I found my way…eventually. Can you speak English?" Kentaro asked.

"I've picked up a fair bit from my travels" said Ryoga with a blush.

"He means from getting lost" Mousse observed.

"What's that duck boy?" asked Ryoga in a threatening manner.

"Nothing pig boy. Careful, we don't want to get Ryoga upset or he'll throw his parasol at us like a little girl" Mousse said facetiously.

"Pig boy?" questioned Kentaro. "Oh you became a pig!" he said, starting to understand everyone's shape shifting.

"Want to keep it up duck boy!" Ryoga threatened, burnishing his parasol at Mousse.

He looked at Ryoga distastefully "quack, quack beats oink, oink any day in my books"

"Would you jackasses shut up or I beat your pointy heads together until the sawdust comes out!" Ukyo said slamming down her book and giving the boys a death glare. They quickly returned to the game, with Ryoga joining in their blah, blah, blahs. Once they were calmed down, all three boys seemed to bond as only teenaged boys can. Soon their laughter sounded more like giggles and that is when Ukyo decided to retire for the night.

"Night boys, I leave it up to you to decide whose staying and whose not" she said, hugging Kentaro before she realized what she was doing.

His eyes got wide, but he hugged her back "sleep well cousin" he said and kissed her on the cheek.

She got into her room and touched her cheek briefly, then shook her head and got ready for bed.

Kentaro asked Mousse, "Sheh said he had a cousin, how come I never met you?"

Mousse blushed, "it's been awhile since I could afford to go, I don't get paid for my job" he explained.

"Holy fuck, call the labour board" Kentaro said in disgust.

"It's a complicated situation I'm in" Mousse explained.

"Uncomplicate it for me" Kentaro urged. Mousse explained. "Look I know you like her and all, but being her slave seems a little extreme. You ever want real a job, you call me," he instructed, handing Mousse his card.

"Thanks, that's nice" Mousse said, honestly touched that someone cared for his well-being. "However I should go, I have to work early in the morning" he explained.

"Not a problem. Where are you staying Ryoga?" asked Kentaro. "You can stay in my room if you want" he suggested.

Ryoga blanched "the pink one?"

"I was going to suggest that you take the bed and I will use my bedroll on the floor" Kentaro said. "Why? Do you think I'm gay?"

Mousse said "pretty face and long hair"

"Yes, like you're one to talk" Kentaro pointed out. They bickered as new friends do until Ryoga opted to stay in Ukyo's living room and Mousse opted to go home. Mousse waited while Kentaro personally led Ryoga to the living room and helped him set up on the couch, then drew wrote him signs, directing him to the washroom and gave Ryoga his cell phone number just in case. He rejoined Mousse.

"Thanks, I had fun" the duck boy said, realizing that his only night spent with friends in his life was done and would never be repeated.

"Cool, you like poker?" Kentaro asked.

"Yeah, but I don't have money to gamble with" he said tentatively.

"So we'll use beans, that'll work. If you want to come by after work tomorrow, we can play against each other and I'll teach you to make real Italian pizza. Twirling dough is easier then you'd think.

"Thanks I'd like that" Mousse said warmly.

"See you tomorrow" Kentaro said he said, clasping the other boy's hand. Kentaro was starting to understand the residents of Nerima; they all had their private angst and loneliness and were too proud to admit it.

Dream

Kentaro female companion tightened her legs lovingly around his waist and kissed the pulse point at his neck, causing him to moan as her walls embraced him tighter. He pumped into her faster, her moans growing and escalating. Her warm breath panted on his neck. He drew her tight, silky body closer to him as he reached the point of no return. He bit his lip to postpone it a little while longer, wanting her to peak again before he went. Her walls started pulsing like crazy around him, he surrendered his seed to her thrashing body at the same time as she bedewed his cock with girly cum. He held her close and then went to give her a final kiss and…..woke up. He lifted his bed sheets gingerly, relieved to see himself throbbing with need, rather then that a wet dream occurred. He wondered why he was having so many sex dreams lately. He only used to get them once in a while, then turned over and punched his pillow in frustration. He promised his dick that as soon as he was divorced, he would find the first available female and make love to her all night long.

Meanwhile

In her bed, in the dead of night, Ukyo gasped "Oh Ranma" as she climaxed. She waited until she caught her breath and then pulled down her nightshirt and wiped her slick fingers on a tissue. Then threw them into the wastepaper basket she kept beside her bed for that purpose. She blushed, wondering if her cus….husband might have heard her; she got loud sometimes. She carefully got up and went to the washroom to pee and wash her hands as she did every night. She pressed her ear to his door and heard nothing. "Nah, its fine, he's too innocent to understand what he heard even if he had' she concluded and went back to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Ukyo was buying her usual amount of groceries and was about to pay for her purchases, when she spotted a book in a rack beside the checkout counter that read 'how to make love to a man.' She blushed slightly at the title, and then thought back to the boy's discussion and how Kentaro had said that he liked his girls really feminine. She thought about Shampoo and Akane, her main competitor for Ranma. Shampoo wore tight, provocative Chinese clothing meant to display her body, enhanced her pretty face with makeup and was naturally flirtatious. Akane didn't go for that nonsense, but she did keep her shorthair neatly trimmed and her appearance neat, plus she wore really feminine, almost girlish clothing. 'Is that what guys like? It that what Ranma likes?' she questioned and on impulse, picked up the book and placed it beside her purchases.

The cashier picked up the book and said "I think this book just went on sale. Let me do a price check on it" she offered.

Ukyo started waving her hands "no, no that isn't necessary; I'll just pay full price" she said, completely embarrassed.

"Not a problem" the cashier replied with a smile and then called over her paging system, "Yumi, could you do a price check on the book entitled 'how to make love to a man'?" She seemed to get an answer, "I was right, it's half off. Aren't you glad I checked?" she asked brightly.

You could have lit a match off Ukyo's face "yes, I'm really glad you did" she said sarcastically.

She got home; she carefully set her groceries down on the counter and went to have a pee. When she got back, her face flamed to find Kentaro had decided to be helpful by unpacking them for her. "I'll do that" she said hastily.

"No problem, I'm almost done" he said and then he pulled out the book. His face started to blush when he read the title.

"That's mine!" she said hastily and snatched it from his hands and darted to her room.

He could only stare after the flustered looking girl and wonder who she wanted to seduce. Him? He shook his head to clear it; he'd lived with her for almost week now. Other then sometimes catching her looking at him with an odd expression on her face or her giving him some unexpected hugs, he might as well be her cousin in truth. 'What had he expected?' that he would meet his wife and she would be so happy to see him that she would fling her arms around him and say 'take me now big boy.' He kicked a table leg at the size of his stupid ego, and then he yelped when he stubbed his toe and hopped around the kitchen. When it stopped throbbing he put away the rest of the groceries and went to brood in his girly room, feeling unwanted and vaguely hurt. "Ranma' he concluded. 'It's always Ranma"

Ukyo read the book, blushing heavily over descriptions of how to do fellatio, give hand jobs. Then she gagged over the descriptions of how to give a prostate massage and a rim job. Then she turned with interest, to the section marked 'how to romantically seduce a man' "Bingo" she thought. Then she read it and got a crash course in how to be ultimately feminine. Ukyo had always been diligent in her studies and this time was no exception. Ranma was in for a night of seduction, all she had to do was follow the instructions and he was hers. She imagined her rival fiancées looks of envy when he walked down the aisle with Ukyo!

She set her trap by first taking herself to a dress shop. With the help of sales girl, she found the perfect little black dress. It was form fitting black satin with a thick straps and a sweet heart neckline that clung to her curves and ended with a slight flare around her knees. Ukyo bought that and matching low heeled pumps.

The lingerie shop was next, where she blushingly tried on sheer black baby doll lingerie with a matching thong. It was like a short, formfitting nightie that had pink ribbon trim on the top and bottom of the skirt and on the transparent thong itself. She admired how this displayed, to an advantage, her trim athletic figure and her large, firm breasts with their pink peaks that matched her lips. She tried to picture Ranma's face when he saw her in this the first time. He wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself and once he sampled her wares, she would make him marry her before she would allow him more.

A trip a department store yielded candles, massage oil, makeup and a curling iron. The champagne she already had, a supplier had gifted it to her at Christmas, not knowing her true age. It was a magnum and should be more then enough to lower the inhabitations of a certain martial artist who didn't normally drink, he would be just tipsy enough for her to exercise her feminine wills on him, to trap him in her silken web. Ranma was going to be hers!

She stopped at the birth control aisle and frowned, debating whether to buy condoms or not, and then decided against it. She wouldn't time the night to coincide with her ovulation period or anything silly like that; but should she become pregnant that night, it would just make certain that Ranma would have to marry her. She pictured her rival's faces when she walked by them with Ranma's baby in her arms and Ranma himself walking beside her, wearing a wedding ring.

Now that her trap was set, she just had to bait it. Food always worked well for the gullible boy. She managed to catch him by himself at school and said "Hi Ranma, I was just wondering if you would like to come over for dinner on Saturday? I'm serving fillet mignon with cream sauce, baby potatoes and dilled carrots, with baked Alaska for dessert" she said persuasively. 'Followed by me for dessert" her mind added.

"Sure I would love to have dinner with Kentaro and yourself" Ranma replied. He was quite happy with the other boy living with her, as he'd hoped she'd shift the focus of her affection to Kentaro, instead of Ranma.

"Sorry Sugar, he has plans that night. It would be just the two of us" she said "Come on, you already said you would. You can't disappoint an old friend like this" she added persuasively.

Ranma gulped, he felt in view of his feelings about Akane, that it wasn't right for him to have a private dinner with another girl. Still Ukyo was an old friend of his "I guess so, but I can't stay long" he said cautiously.

"You can stay just as long as you want Sugar" she said. "You can just eat and run if you have other plans" she said, giving him a friendly-seeming smile.

Saturday

Ukyo waited for Kentaro to leave before she started to get ready. He'd gone to pick up Ryoga as had become their habit, not trusting the boy to find the restaurant himself as Ryoga had moved into a rooming house temporarily. She laughed when he returned with two bundles of clothing and a duck under one arm and a pig under the other.

"Aren't they cute? It started to rain, so I brought them here" Kentaro said with a laugh, earning a glare from the 'cute' animals. "When Ryoga said he became a pig; I thought he meant a huge evil, looking one with big tusks, not a sweet little potbellied pig" Kentaro said, grinning fondly at the annoyed looking P-chan. "Would you watch them while I go get some dry clothes.....and my camera?" Kentaro asked Ukyo.

Ukyo, in an evil mood herself, picked up the kettle that she was boiling for tea and held it over them. They scrambled when they realized that they were about transformed in front of a female. "Come on, don't you want to become men again?" she said, burnishing the kettle over their scrambling heads, until she got one then the other. The naked boys turned bright red and clasped their hands over their privates. They got even redder when she walked around them, examining them from every angle. "My, my Sugars. You two are going to make a pair of girls very happy some day" she said causally. They gasped when she gave each pair of muscular buttocks a friendly pat.

Kentaro returned with a bundle of clothing and took in the interesting sight. "Ukyo that was so mean" he observed and handed each cowering boy some clothes. "You'll have to wear my clothes tonight. Ryoga, your clothes are in the dryer. Mousse, your silk stuff is strictly drip dry" he laughed and traded a look with Ukyo when they scrambled into the clothes as fast a possible.

"Thanks for the dry clothes, Kentaro. Thanks for the public humiliation Ukyo" Ryoga said sourly, but gave her a friendly smile.

"We should get going" Mousse said, still blushing shyly.

"Do you want to come with us?" Kentaro asked Ukyo.

"No thanks, karaoke isn't my thing. I'm surprised you like it" she replied

"Great way to improve your English by having to read off the lyrics so fast or else make a fool of yourself; it's also great way to meet girls" he explained. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and left.

Ukyo ran to the bathroom and made up and did her hair, then slipped into her new clothing. She admired the woman in the mirror. She had softly curled hair, she wore light plum colour kiss proof lipstick, light applied smoky eye shadow and her eyes had been lined with soft black eyeliner. She looked beautiful and softly feminine, quite unlike her normal self. Satisfied with her appearance, she went to cook and set the table.

The table had a white tablecloth with a red overlay and silver candlesticks held tall, slim white candles. The dim light caused the white plates to gleam and the champagne flutes to twinkle. The champagne was in an ice filled silver bucket beside the table. Everything looked elegant; she'd spared no expense for Ranma's seduction. The next important day she would have to plan, would be their wedding she realized.

Meanwhile Ranma was making his way over to her apartment; he was feeling more nervous by the minute. Something about tonight was off he felt; Ukyo had been acting weird all week. He didn't like it. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear Kentaro saying "Ranma?" until he was right in front of him.

He woke up from his daze and was surprised to see Kentaro with Mousse and Ryoga. "What are you guys doing?" he asked.

"We've sort of become friends" replied Ryoga, with a shrug.

"I like having male friends and kind of kidnapped them" Kentaro explained. "We're going to karaoke. Would you like to join us?" he asked.

"You would want me to come?" he questioned of Mousse and Ryoga.

Ryoga shrugged, "we haven't hung out for a long while, sure" he replied.

"I don't have a problem with you coming" replied Mousse.

"Well, I was supposed to go to a friend's for dinner, but I'm not sure I want to" Ranma said hesitatingly.

"So, use my cell to blow them off and come with us" Kentaro suggested holding it out to him.

Ranma felt horrible doing so, but seriously didn't think he should be alone with Ukyo. So he called and left a message on her cell, cancelling for dinner, not realizing that she had forgotten to charge her phone in her excitement.

Ukyo put the food on the plates and sat down to wait, her heart was racing in anticipation of hearing the doorbell, announcing the presence of Ranma. After one hour she called the Tendo residence and talked with Kasumi, who told her that he had left long ago. After two hours, she starting crying and opened the magnum of champagne. As she drank glass after glass of the beverage meant for celebration, she allowed her expensive food to go to ruin and wondered where Ranma was.

Ranma was singing a duet of YMCA with Kentaro, Mousse and Ryoga. Kentaro had explained how they spell out the chorus in America and each boy had been assigned a letter, Ranma was C. He was having a blast singing along with the other boys. They all had horrible voices, but the girls in the audience didn't care. They cheered them on because they were four attractive males.

Ukyo finished the bottle and staggered towards her room, on the way she stripped the dress off and kicked off the shoes. In just her lingerie she curled up on her bed and started sobbing.

When Kentaro got home, he didn't understand why the table was set with what looked like expensive western style food, he blew out what remained of the candles and decided to go question Ukyo. He almost tripped over a bundle of clothing; he held up a dress and found the matching pumps. These he carried with him. Hearing her weeping piteously, he simply opened the door, "Ukyo are you okay?" he asked with concern. Her light was on, he sucked in his breath to see her dressed in sexy lingerie.

"Ranma never came" she said in a broken voice. She held her arms out for him, seeking comfort.

Kentaro got over his nervousness and simply pulled her into his arms, ignoring her almost nude state.

"You were who he was supposed to see tonight? I'm sorry, we ran into him and he decided to come with us"

"You fucker! You're the reason!" she shrieked and tried to hit him.

"He decided he wanted to come to karaoke. I didn't know that you even had plans or I never would have suggested the idea" Kentaro said, catching her hand and holding it in place.

"So he didn't want to come here?" she said in a broken voice. In her rage and grief, her hormones took over; she wanted to punish Ranma by giving what he missed to someone else. She grabbed Kentaro by the hair and thrust her tongue into his mouth, grinding her body against his. Kentaro gasped in surprised and pulled away.

"We can't, you're drunk and I can't take advantage of you like this. You certainly don't want your first time to be like this, do you?" he chastened.

She laughed bitterly "first time? I got rid of my virginity a couple of years ago. I offered it to a cross dressing guy in my all boys school. We did it in an alley way with my pants pulled down while he pounded it to me from behind. I just wanted the whole nonsense over with"

"Nonsense?" Kentaro questioned, he was slightly stunned to learn that Ukyo wasn't a virgin. She seemed so stuck on Ranma, that he couldn't imagine her not being one.

"I didn't want to be bothered hoping my first time was going to be special; I just wanted it gone, so I arranged it that way. It hurt!" she declared.

"It should only hurt a little at first, if not; he didn't do a good enough job preparing you. I can't make love to you in this state, but I can still pleasure you. After all it's my job as your husband" Kentaro said. Ukyo shivered when he slid down her thong and softly kissed her inner thighs.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked nervously, as she felt his fingers stroking through her thatch of dark brown hair. He answered her, by parting her labia with his tongue and curling it around her clitoris. She gasped when he did this, she'd heard about being eaten out before; but it had always struck her as gross, both for the giver and receiver. She moaned while she was given a crash course in why women, really, really enjoyed this, as his tongue continued to tease, stroke and caress. Her hands fisted in to his hair, as if afraid he would stop. She could feel mind-blowing waves of pleasure washing over her, driving her towards a peak that no one had ever taken her to before.

Kentaro had never done this before but was confident in his abilities, between diagrams and porn; he knew where girl's erogenous zones were and had read up on how to orally pleasure them. He smiled, as the boy-girl moaned and opened her legs wider to give him better access, her hips lifting into his strokes. Needing no more encouragement, he pushed his fingers deep inside her wet entrance and pumped them in time with his tongue. She started panting and thrusting back against his fingers, while his tongue swirled frantically around her clitoris. She came with a shout; for about ten seconds she squealed "Ranma" in orgasm and then went limp. Quickly Kentaro moved up her body and held her; he could feel her heart pounding against his. He was more then slightly disturbed that she hadn't even given him the credit for pleasuring her. He was also fully conscious that she wore very little. He tamped down what the dark demons in his head were demanding, 'she's the reason you're a virgin; it's only fitting that she should be your first, pull down your zipper and pound it to her. She won't complain and when you bring both to satisfaction; she's practically naked anyway' it suggested. He considered this briefly; she was so wet and ready, and then he thought about what the consequences of unprotected sex could be and decided against it.

He pulled away to find her asleep, silencing the demons. He should have just covered her up right away like a gentleman, but couldn't help examining her nearly nude body for a minute. He took in her long legs that lead to her neatly trimmed, nest of dark curls at the apex of her sex. Her taunt belly with is belly button winking almost shyly when she breathed. Finally he examined her large, upstanding breasts with their pink topped nipples and her elegantly muscled arms and shoulders. Her face was relaxed in sleep and her hair still waved slightly, she looked like a sleeping angel.

This is the image that he took with him, after he covered her up, to his room across the hall, where he jerked himself off with her taste still on his lips. After he was done, he cleaned up and then tiptoed into her room to deposit a glass of water and some aspirin on her nightstand; she was going to need them for her hangover, he concluded. She woke up slightly "Kentaro?" she slurred.

"I'm here" he said.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asked. He hesitated, then pulled the out her long nightshirt and helped her into it was averted eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to get killed the next day when she woke up wearing only the remainder of her lingerie and him asleep beside her. These he put into her laundry hamper for her to deal with at a later time. Then hung up her dress and put the shoes in her closet.

"Of course" he whispered and slipped under the covers beside her, she sighed and cuddled up against his side, she rested her head on his bare chest and fell asleep. He slipped his arms around her and drifted off to sleep himself, glad that he had on sleep pants or there might be hell to pay.


	6. Chapter 6

Ukyo stroked herself to climax again for the third time that night, and gasped "Kentaro" when she came, then blushed. Ever since her failed attempt at seducing Ranma a couple days before, she couldn't get the memory of Kentaro orally pleasuring her out of her head. It was like he had awaken the untapped sexuality that she had been repressing for years after her one painful attempt and now her body craved more. It was bad enough when she had awoken in his arms, blushing heavily when she remembered the night before. She'd felt horrible, but even then her body throbbed with need. He had done nothing that morning, but took care of her, when she would have melted if he had even lightly stroked her sensitive nipple peaks once. Pretending to making love to Ranma no longer did it for masturbation, because it was more like a fantasy compared to the reality that she now knew.

She would find herself staring after Kentaro with lust in her eyes, of course she found attractive; a person would have to be crazy not too. But before she was firmly wrapped up in her love for Ranma, however her recent lust for Kentaro was starting to win. Yes, she was married to him and that meant legally they were expected to sleep together, therefore there would be no guilt over it. Once they were divorce, she would marry Ranma and think about Kentaro fondly as an old flame and friend, she resolved.

"Ukyo, why are you staring at me like that?" Kentaro inquired while he helped her with the dishes.

She blushed "sorry, I have something on my mind" she explained.

Kentaro tried not to smile, he was still technically a virgin, but he knew female arousal when he saw it. It was something he'd seen a lot of since hitting puberty. However, he wouldn't debase Ukyo by simple seduction; it had to be her idea. This time she had to know that it was Kentaro who was pleasuring her and him that she desired, not Ranma. So he stayed aloof and didn't act any different then normal and waited for her to come to him.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.

"No Mousse has to work late, Ryoga's meeting with someone on business and Ranma has a test to study for. It's just you and me this evening" he said. "Would you like to do something?"

She swallowed hard, "would you like to play Igo?" she suggested.

"Sure" Kentaro said and went to get and set up the game for them. He raised his eyebrow at her when she got out a bottle of sake and poured them both a healthy glass full. 'Liquid courage' he thought. "Are you sure you want to have alcohol again so soon?" he teased.

She blushed, "just a glass or two" she replied. He moved his first piece and said nothing more. "Um, I've heard of making the game more interesting, where you set a wager on the outcome and the winner has to do whatever the loser wants" Ukyo said nervously.

"Oh, how is that set up?" Kentaro asked, still sipping his first glass slowly, while she poured another for herself.

"You write down your wagers on a sheet of paper, so that you can't change them, and then slip them under the game. The winner gets to claim his prize from the loser, after they read it" she explained.

"I'm game" said Kentaro. He frowned, not wanting to write down something perverse that might repulse her, so he just wrote down 'you will do all the dishes for a week,' which was harmless and innocent. She blushed while she wrote hers, so he was forced to speculate what it might be.

They played their stones as they sipped their sake, both wondering what they might win as the played their pieces with a greater degree of thought. For a while it looked like Ukyo was going to win, but in the end it was Kentaro that proved to be victorious. Ukyo blanched as Kentaro causally slid out her wager from beneath the board. He opened it and smiled at her "you may play with my breasts" he read out loud to the flustered looking girl. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

She drew herself up and looked into the fake fireplace she had had installed in her living room when she bought the place. "I'm a woman of my word" she said and uncrossed her arms to allow him to fondle her chest. She gulped when he began undoing her top. "W-what are you doing?" she stammered with a deep blush, when he pushed her top down her arms, leaving her exposed except for her breast bindings.

"Well, for the comfort of and pleasure of both of us, I'm removing your clothes so that I can play with your breasts. After all, you did offer" he pointed out; he found the tack holding her bandages together and removed it. He started to unwind them from her chest.

Ukyo gasped when every loop was undone; driving her closer to a half nude state. "Please stop" she said when there were only scant centimeters left to screen her nipples from his eyes.

"I thought you said you were a woman of your word?" he teased when he removed the rest and her full breasts sprang into view. She covered these with her arms. He pulled his own shirt over his head and drew her chest to his; she flushed and didn't remove her arms. "There, now we are both equally exposed" he whispered and stroked her supple back, trying to get her to calm down. Slowly, her arms left her front and then slipped around his broad back until her chest was flush with his, she moaned at the feeling of his soft skin on her own. He could feel the hardened peaks of her nipples rubbing against him while she breathed. She gasped in surprise when he moved the game out of the way and pushed her back on to the hearth rug.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Playing with your breasts" he whispered as he leaned forward to capture the nearest nipple with his mouth, while he cradled her large breasts in his hands possessively. He lightly pinched the other nipple not getting his mouth's attention.

Ukyo forgot her embarrassment, while he sucked her stiff, tender buds into his hot mouth and ran his tongue round and round her nipples. No sooner was he done with one wet peak, when he released from his mouth with an audible pop, and then he pinched and rolled it almost painfully between his fingertips while he captured the other one. Ukyo hadn't realized how pleasurable having her chest caressed could feel and she soon forgot her embarrassment. She arched her chest into his touches while he teased her panting breasts.

Knowing the effect this was having on her lower regions; he rolled them onto their sides and placed his hips against her own, while he still never stop tormenting her breasts. She still wore her socks, panties and leggings. Seeking release, Ukyo began involuntarily grinding her hips against his, placing her leg over his hip to bring him closer while she dry humped him in a frenzy of lust. She gasped when the hardened tip of him began to rub against her clit; this just caused her to rub herself harder against him like a cat in heat.

He could feel her damp heat through his jeans and her leggings and wondered what would be the best way to talk her into removing the rest of her clothing. When she said "could you kiss me down there like you did on Saturday?" she asked with a blush. Taking a hold of her leggings, he drew them off of her. He removed her socks. He took a second to admire the sweet ice blue lace panties against her toned skin, then removed her final barrier to bliss and replaced it with his mouth. His tongue danced and swirled between her soft, pink lips, every lick, caress and nibble bringing her closer to the edge; until she tipped over it with a cry of surrender. He allowed her two more, and then kept pulling away just shy of supplying the last one.

"Please make me come!" she panted, it was more a demand then anything. He answered her by placing her hand over his jeans, to feel the steely hardness of his cock.

"This is my virginity, it was intended for you. Do you want it?" he asked the frustrated girl.

"Yes," she said, taking the final step towards discovering bodily pleasures between man and woman. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and seated himself fully against her glistening lips. Ukyo looked up at his angelic face hovering just above her, while his hair hung down like a golden curtain on either side of them.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, giving her another chance to back out.

"Yes" she said, and then moaned when he entered her with a single, deep thrust. She'd been expecting pain like the last time; but this time there was only glorious pleasure. Each stroke seemed to rub against her clit, causing waves of pleasure to ripple through her body. She didn't object when he sought to kiss her, but accepted her first kiss from his lips; allowing his tongue to explore the moist depths of her mouth, as readily as his cock was her pussy. Kentaro almost gasped in surprise when he entered hot, wet female flesh for the first time. He knew he couldn't last too long; but vowed to get her off at least once more before he went. Her legs were lashed around his waist, while he rode her hard as he kissed her gorgeous, full lips. She gasped his name and bucked with him, as her body strained for release. 'Ye gods I never knew it could be like this!' she thought just before her orgasm swept her away like a tidal wave. Her release drew Kentaro in and with a cry, he painted her walls hot white with his own cum. He held the panting girl close, while the sweat dried on both their bodies. "Did you enjoy that Mrs. Kobayashi?" he teased, as he stroked her hair back. Her hair was in a tangle and her face flushed from making love. He thought that she'd never looked lovelier and noticed that her beautiful brown eyes looked softer after making love.

She smiled in amusement at the name and didn't get annoyed; she was too relaxed and sexually sated to care at the moment. "That was adequate Mr. Kobayashi" she said stroking his cheek and admiring his good looks.

He raised his eyebrows at her "adequate? I guess I shall have to do better the next time. Give me five minutes and that'll be now" he said, leaning down to kiss her again. Ukyo could feel her hunger soar again, when he teased one of her nipples with his thumb. She moaned when she felt him hardening inside her again. Her lust rose when he made just the tiniest movement in her.

He leapt to his feet when he heard a knock at the door, "who's that? Are you expecting anyone?" he asked Ukyo. She held her clothes in front of her and shook her head. "Go change into your nightshirt and bathrobe as if you were in bed. I'll get the door; don't come out of your room until I say its safe." he ordered and pulled his clothes on.

Ukyo darted into her room and changed, but joined him at the door anyway with a defiant glare. Kentaro opened the door slowly, not trusting anyone who would show up in the middle of the night. He peered into the shadows and recognized the person there. "Mousse, what are you doing here?" he asked him, wondering why the normally polite young man would be so rude to show up unannounced at someone's place so late at night.

Mousse stepped out of the shadows "I'm sorry, Shampoo ordered me to leave and I had no other place to go" he explained with sadness in his voice. Both Kentaro and Ukyo gasped at the blood running down his face and onto his white robe.

"Come inside" Kentaro ordered and seized Mousse's wrist in case he decided to resist. Kentaro froze when Mousse made a sound like a wounded animal. Kentaro loosen his grip and examined the hot, swollen wrist in his hand. 'Badly sprained, nothing broken' he thought with some relief.

"Mousse, what happened?" Ukyo asked, with concern in her voice. "Did Ranma do this to you?"

"Come inside Mousse" Kentaro said gently and the shattered boy allowed himself to be coaxed inside. "It wasn't Ranma was it?" Kentaro asked; he'd suspected something about Mousse's relationship with Shampoo that he hadn't had the nerve to ask.

"No" Mousse replied dully and finally stopped shivering in the warm apartment.

"Ukyo, do you have a first aid kit?" Kentaro asked.

"This is Nerima, I have practically a full pharmacy" she said, giving Mousse an encouraging smile.

Kentaro helped his friend to sit, noticing how stiff he was moving. Kentaro didn't even ask permission, but undid the back on Mousse's robe and helped him off with it. He set the robe, heavy with weopons, aside and turned back to look at Mousse. Ukyo dropped the first aid kit with a startled cry at the sight of his ribs. He was all purple and red on the right side of his ribcage; the skin looked swollen and painful. "Mousse, what happened?" she cried.

Mousse gave her the look of a scared animal and drew his legs up hugged his knees. "Shampoo happened to him" Kentaro stated, his lips were thin with rage. "She takes out her frustrations about Ranma on Mousse and he lets her beat him. Right?" Mousse barely nodded, he was too upset that Shampoo had actually ordered him to leave. Normally she would just calm down and then act like nothing happened while Mousse tended to his own wounds. But this time she'd actually kicked him out!

"Is this true Sugar?" Ukyo asked, placing her hand on his back to offer comfort.

"Shampoo gets......annoyed sometimes" Mousse explained, and then flinched when Kentaro started dabbing rubbing alcohol onto the cut on his forehead.

"Why do you let her do this to you?" asked Ukyo, holding his hair out of the way for Kentaro's ministrations.

Mousse shrugged "I would rather she take it out on me then someone else, like Akane Tendo, who couldn't defend herself so readily against Shampoo. Besides, I love her" he said sadly. His heart felt broken.

Kentaro finished dressing Mousse's wounds and wrapped up his wrist, then got him a bag of ice for his ribs. All three martial artists had concluded that his ribs were bruised, not fractured and could wait until tomorrow to seek medical attention. "Ukyo, can Mousse stay here for a few days? He can have my room, I'll take the couch" Kentaro suggested.

Ukyo finally understood why Kentaro hung around with people she thought were weird. Kentaro didn't take people at face value; he got to know the real person inside and chose his friends that way. "Of course he can stay. He can stay here as long as he needs to" she said to Mousse, she felt her heart break at the flare of gratitude in his eyes at so simple an act of charity.

Kentaro helped him up "come on Mousse, let's put you to bed. You need rest if you're going to heal properly" he said. Ukyo trailed along too and waited outside while Kentaro helped Mousse change into borrowed pajamas, and then she went into the room.

"I can help you at the restaurant" Mousse offered. "You don't have to pay me anything"

"Sure Sugar, in a few days when the swelling on your ribs goes down a bit" she replied. She held out the bottle that she had retrieved from her room. "Pain killers, I got these when I sprained my ankle. They're still good, you should have enough here to last you until tomorrow when Kentaro takes you to Dr. Tofu's" she explained.

"Thanks for letting me stay here and for this" Mousse said with a grateful smile.

"You're welcomed to come here anytime you need to, day or night" Ukyo declared and was surprised when she meant it.

His friends wished Mousse good night and he curled up in a much more comfortable bed than he'd ever slept in before and in a heated room for once. Yet he missed his own room, where if he positioned is head just right, he could hear Shampoo breathe in her sleep. He could feel his tears soaking into the pillow. Yes his body hurt, but it would heal. But his heart wouldn't so easily.

"Sleep in my room, Ken" Ukyo suggested as they walked towards the living room.

He smiled at the nickname and decided he liked her calling him that; people in America used to call him that. "Mouse will hear. Besides, we should buy some condoms before we make love again, I'm already worried about earlier" he replied.

Ukyo helped him make up the couch, and then tucked him in. "Relax Sugar, I am a couple days away from my period and should be fine. Good night Mr. Kobayashi" she said and surprised him by giving him a deep kiss.

"Keep that up Mrs. Kobayashi and neither of us will get any sleep" he whispered. "Thanks for letting Mousse stay"

"My pleasure Sugar," Ukyo said and turned off the lights, leaving both boys lying awake in the darkness of the apartment, reflecting on separate girls; while she slept the sleep of the sexually sated for once.


	7. Chapter 7

Kentaro studied Ukyo, noticing that she was wearing a bra and not her former chest bindings. These were too annoying to keep removing, so she had switched.

They had been lovers for three days now and in a few more days, her mother was expected. Although he was looking forward to seeing his Aunt Suki, Kentaro kind of wished that she would be called away for another week. With Mousse living with them, they had had to find rather creative places to make love.

Kentaro frowned for thinking ill of his friend. Mousse had been in a state of depression ever since that night; especially after Shampoo wouldn't return his phone calls, begging her to be able to come home. He went into the girly bedroom to see how the other boy was doing, only to find him lying on the bed. Kentaro couldn't resist a small smile, between the pink canopy bed and his long hair, Mousse resembled a teenaged girl more than a teenaged boy. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Fine" he replies, this had become his automatic response. He tried to limit his crying to nighttime hours, so that his soft sobs wouldn't bother his temporary roommates.

"Can I see your ribs?" Kentaro asked, touching the edge of Mousse's borrowed t-shirt. He was too polite to pull it up without permission.

"Knock yourself out" said a slightly impatient and depressed Mousse.

Kentaro lifted the shirt and gazed with sympathy at his friend's badly bruised side. It made Kentaro sad that the person responsible for Mousse's emotional and physical pain was also his beloved. He took a seat gingerly on a chair meant for a little girl's tea party. "She still won't talk to you?" he observed.

Mousse looked away to hide the tears that sprang to his eyes "no" he said in almost a whisper. "The only message I got from her was through Cologne, and that was 'Mousse is weak duck boy and Shampoo no want to see. Ranma is too too powerful man, make good husband and strong girl children'" Mousse replied in a good imitation of her butchered Japanese.

"Do you want to talk about it? What set off the argument?" he asked.

"Ranma had won movie passes to a movie that Shampoo wanted to see, so she thought that he would take her, but he'd already asked Akane to go. So Shampoo was hurt. I wanted to make her feel better, so I asked her if she wanted to go with me instead. After that, it's all a blur of horrible Japanese, flying fists and eventually a chair joined in with the rest. Then she told me to leave and that she never wanted to see me again." Mousse said sadly.

"Mousse, no one should have to live like that" chided Kentaro. "I wish you would let me help you. I can offer you a job as a restaurant manager and I would find you a place to live. Or you could work for your cousin; he already told me that you're welcome in his house. You would just have to come back to Kyoto with me" Kentaro said persuasively.

Mousse looked away "I know that you're trying to help and I appreciate it. But if Shampoo isn't there; then I can't go" he said softly.

"I want you to think about what this love is costing you and ask yourself if it's worth it. You are losing any chance of having a life of your own, your self respect and your very health. I'm not going to tell you what I do. I'm not you and I've never been in love before" Kentaro said softly to the sad boy.

"You want to know what being in love is like? Its pain and suffering. Torture that never seems to stop no matter how many times you say the safe word" Mousse said bitterly. "Yes my body hurts, but that's nothing compared to here" he said, placing his hand to his left breast.

"Mousse you're only sixteen, you have years yet! You'll find a woman worthy of you; one who'll return your love and treat you decently" Kentaro said.

"I only want her!" Mousse said and started sobbing. Kentaro stroked his shoulder until he cried himself to sleep. He sat back in the too-small chair and watched the vulnerable looking boy sleep. Of the people that he'd met in Nerima, he liked Mousse the best. He felt oddly protective of him. Mousse made Kentaro wonder what he could have been like if he didn't have his lovingly protective misguided family and been born to wealth and privilege. What if he'd been born into a more primitive place where the males were treated like second class citizens? How would he have survived? Mousse had; even though he was considered damaged goods by Amazon standards, the lowest of the low. He'd been relegated to being an outsider even amongst his own sex, because of his blindness. Kentaro then tried to imagine leaving the only home that he'd ever known; to follow the girl he loved to an alien place where the language and customs were odd to him. Only to be beaten and ridiculed by her because that was normal in their relationship. How could he cheerfully accept her slings and arrows on a daily basis and always go back for more?

Kentaro didn't like Mousse in a sexual way. Kentaro had always known his gender preference. He had no problem with hugging other males, but didn't wish to make love to one. Mousse needed a level of comfort right now that Kentaro couldn't provide, even if he had been gay. Mousse couldn't stand the feeling of male hands on his flesh. Too many males, who couldn't win a wife, had made sexual advances on a seemingly vulnerable younger Mousse; seeing the beautiful boy as a way to relieve their sexual needs. Mousse had kicked their asses of course, Kentaro thought with a smile. However, this had made Mousse leery about accepting even innocent touches from another man. Kentaro himself had been lucky, the one time that a pedophile had made advances on him, his father had chased the pervert away. Mousse's own father had died early. Mousse made Kentaro feel helpless. He couldn't stay here forever and there was no way that Mousse would come with him. The lure of a place of his own, a job and family to turn to, hadn't yielded any results. That meant that Mousse would have no one to turn to the next time that he was bleeding from the head at four in the morning. Ryoga might help him, but he only stumbled upon Nerima by accident once in a while. There was Ukyo. She said she would help Mousse, but she was so fixated on Ranma, that she would probably forget her promise in no time.

Kentaro stood and tiptoed to the bed. He carefully arranged a blanket over Mousse, he briefly touched his silky hair and whispered "I'll find a way to make you better, I promise" and left the room. He joined Ukyo in the kitchen.

"Is he feeling better?" she asked with concern.

"Physically, he's a little better. Emotionally, he's a mess" Kentaro said with a frown.

"What does he need?" Ukyo asked.

"A positive experience in love would be the main thing, he has to learn that it doesn't have to hurt and scar. A better girlfriend, a better life, a real job, supportive friends and family; take your pick he needs them all. All he has is zero confident and a fragile ego that's getting worse everyday from being told that he's a failure by the old bat and her wicked granddaughter." he explained.

Ukyo said nothing, she had little positive to say on the subject of love. Love to her, was competition and proving oneself to be worthy of it. To keep a positive attitude in the face of adversity and to never let her Intended be alone with her main competitor, so that they might actually come to an understanding of their mutual feelings for each other. Love was a game that she intended to win. The only fly in the ointment stood right in front of her. When he had been just the annoyance of an easily divorced husband from a previously unknown arranged marriage, he'd been bad enough. But now that he was her lover, she found herself developing feelings for him. She found herself noticing things about him. How his eyes turned light green as he made love to her. How he shifted in his sleep and hugged her closer to him. How his smile made her feel warm inside. These observations annoyed Ukyo; especially when she found herself critically comparing Ranma to Kentaro. It was unbefitting for a fiancée to feel this way. 'The cute fiancée, that's what I am' Ukyo reminded herself as she took Kentaro into her arms and kissed him, to show support over their mutual friend. Afterwards he pulled back and stroked her hair, while he stared into her eyes. 'I love Ranma' she thought resolutely.

Kentaro was helping with close up, when Ukyo ran upstairs with tears running down her face. He put down his broom and ran up after her. He eased her door open to find her face down on the bed. "Ukyo, what is it honey?" he asked as he stroked her heaving back.

"Akane and Ranma were here and she was wearing an engagement ring. I've lost him" she sobbed. "My life is over"

"That's not true" he whispered. She turned over and kissed him desperately.

"Please, Ken I need to be made love to, I want to feel....." she started, unable to finish the sentence.

"I know what you need" Kentaro assured her and reached into her nightstand for a condom, she stopped his hand. "I'm still safe. Just this once, can we do without it?" she asked.

He undressed the both them and with feather light touches, he prepared her until she was panting for him. Yet she started sobbing when he entered her, he made love to her with slow, even strokes while she clung to him in desire and sorrow at the same time. Each orgasm was practically a wail of grief. They were so absorbed in their love making, that they didn't even see Mousse when he entered the room. He had been concerned about the sounds of grief that he had heard coming from Ukyo's room. Kentaro had forgotten to close the door when he went in to see her.

"What are you doing? I thought you were cousins!" Mousse asked in shock.

Kentaro and Ukyo turned to look at him. Kentaro was glad that he shielded Ukyo from Mousse's view. "No we aren't. We aren't actually related through family ties; we just said so to protect Ukyo's reputation" he explained. "Ukyo got some bad news, so I'm comforting her in a sense" he said calmly, despite the almost comedic setting.

Mousse averted his blushing face; "sorry I interrupted" he stammered and turned to leave.

"Don't go" Ukyo said, making a decision. "What you said earlier; he needs to be loved just much as me" she explained to Kentaro.

"I can't offer this to him, anymore then he would accept it from me" Kentaro replied.

"From me" she stated.

"Are you sure?" Kentaro asked.

"Yes, Mousse please join us in the bed" she almost pleaded with him.

Mousse wasn't sure what to do; he couldn't do that! Not with a male and a female! "I won't touch you, it would just be you touching Ukyo" Kentaro said.

Mousse felt like he was in a dream as he walked towards the bed, his feet seeming to bring him there of their own free accord. He lowered himself onto the bed beside Ukyo and she helped him take his pajamas off. She lay him down, on his undamaged side and put her arms around him, drawing him against her soft naked skin. He sighed when she gave him his first kiss.. She panted against his lips while Kentaro made love to her from behind. She caressed him, kissed him; exploring his smooth muscular frame. She encouraged Mousse to explore her breasts and stroke her clit while she was being made love to. Ukyo delighted at having two good-looking boys teasing her all erogenous zones. Her cries of joy escalated until she came furiously, gasping into Mousse's mouth. Kentaro added his own shout a few minutes later.

Kentaro got up and watched while Ukyo turned her full attention on to Mousse. He watched as she tenderly stroked his body and moved him in to position comfortable for them both. Then, Kentaro left. He was a hentai, but felt that Mousse's first time was sacred and should only be between Ukyo and himself. Kentaro tried to be jealous, but failed to. Ukyo was giving Mousse the comfort he needed by healing him with her body, the way Kentaro couldn't.

Mousse gulped when she guided him gently onto his back, mindful of his injuries. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. Then those same hands cradled his balls while the other curled around his fully erect shaft. She carefully straddled his hips and brushed tip of his cock to against her pussy lips, coating him with her honey. She positioned him against her wet entrance and slowly impaled herself upon his length. Mousse moaned in ecstasy, to feel hot, silken walls embrace his cock for the first time in his life. His moans increased when she started riding him slowly, her own moans joining his. She never neglected kissing him, or caressing him, while she whispered sweet nothings to him; encouraging him to greater heights of pleasure. He moved with her while they made love. For once he felt good about himself; that he was desired and was providing this beautiful female with pleasure. He kissed her when she came on his cock and tightened his hand at her hip. Then leaning gingerly forward, he teased her breasts until she came again, this time he came with her. For the first time in years he felt alive, accepted and whole. She stroked his back when the tears started and eased him onto his side again. He was still within her, softening slowly and she didn't seem to mind. "Thank you" he said.

"I wish I could say anytime; but I can't Sugar" she said, kissing the last of his tears away.

"Once was enough. I feel better and no longer depressed" Mousse said in astonishment.

"Me too" she said and cuddled him some more.

Mousse joined Kentaro in the living room. "You're not mad are you?" he asked apprehensively.

"No, if you were anyone else; you'd be dead. But it is you and she suggested it" he replied, giving Mousse an encouraging smile.

"If she isn't your cousin, then what are you to each other?" Mousse inquired.

"She's my wife" Kentaro said, then hastily added. "Don't look like that" he said to Mousse's look of horror over the fact that he had just made love to, not just a married woman, but his best friend's wife! "Let me explain" and he did.

"So what's going to happen now? Is she over Ranma?" Mousse asked.

Kentaro frowned "I guess it's up to her whether she chooses him or she chooses me"

"I hope she chooses you" Mousse said.

"Me too" Kentaro said, lost in thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Ukyo's mom was delayed in her travels, but sent a ton of frilly dresses in advance to her daughter. Ukyo looked sourly at the confections of lace and ruffles and said "how did she know my sizes?" she asked, holding up a particularly annoyingly pink one.

Kentaro replied with a twinkle in his eye "I told them to her. She wanted to make sure you had a proper wardrobe, because she wants to paint the town red with you when she gets here. She's looking forward to seeing you" he explained.

Ukyo's heart melted at these words and for a second she appreciated all of the frou frou garments; only for a second. "You haven't told her about my preferences I take it?" she asked.

"She remembers you as being her little princess, who liked to play with dolls and dress up and hold tea parties with your teddy bears. I didn't have heart to tell her that her little girl would rather be a boy. You will just have to introduce yourself and learn each other's preferences. You'll like Aunt Suki; she's great. She's like a second mother to me" Kentaro assured her. She turned from the pile, refusing to comment and watched Mousse serving her customers. He was quick, but sometimes got the wrong orders to the wrong tables. However, he was so polite that no one seemed to mind.

"Mousse needs laser surgery" she proclaimed.

Kentaro said "you think I haven't thought of that? I've offered it to him as a gift; I've tried to persuade him because it was a special occasion, I've even tried to blackmail him into it. He keeps saying no, because he's too proud, even though it would solve the majority of his Amazon-related problems and might even bag him Shampoo"

Ukyo grinned evilly, "You don't have the same power over him that I do. I'm calling doctor Tofu to get a referral for a doctor and booking the appointment, and then we have to use the right approach to get him there."

A Few Hours Later

"Hey Mousse, Ukyo wants to see you in her office, take a break" Kentaro said.

"Okay, thanks" Mousse said and went to the tiny office that Ukyo had set up to handle booking keeping, payroll and bills.

She raised her head and looked sternly at him. "Ah Mu-San, please take a seat" She ordered him.

Mousse's eyes got wide at her use of formality in his name. He was used to Japanese people mispronouncing it. He took a seat looking somewhat dubious; he has been slightly uncomfortable around her ever since they had had sex. He was sure that this conversation was about that. Ukyo had finally pronounced him well enough to help out at her restaurant and had insisted on putting him on the payroll. Something that Mousse was not used to, nor that she didn't hold out her hand to take his tips at the end of the day; if she did, it was to change them into bills for him. "Of course Kuonji-Sama" he replied and had a seat.

"Mu-San, now that you are my employee, I have to insist that you make some minor changes in yourself to correct some behavioural problems. Customers expect to receive their correct order in a timely manner and you have failed to deliver that to them" she said with a glare.

Mousse hung his head "I'm sorry Kuonji-Sama, I'm afraid that my eyesight isn't the greatest, I promise to try harder in the future" he said.

"Mousse it's more serious then that, it makes your work ethic look sloppy and me look bad. Then there is the higher insurance premium I shall have to pay to employ a disabled person to consider. I'm afraid that I had little choice but to put you on my health insurance, which will cover eighty percent of your laser eye surgery and pay for rest myself. Of course you shall have to pay me back at five dollars a week until it's paid in full" she said sternly.

Kentaro walked in just in time to see the shocked expression on Mousse's face. "Sorry pal, you have little choice in the matter. She's your boss after all" he said with a shrug.

"B-but, but" the startled boy began. He was expecting to be dismissed, not this! Ever since hearing about laser eye surgery, he had been dreaming about getting it done, but lacked the money for it. He was definitely too wise to suggest the idea to Cologne; he pictured her laughing at him.

"I'm sorry Mu-San, but distract measures are sometimes called for. Now, get your coat. I pulled some strings and you have a consultation for today. I am closing the restaurant this evening so I can personally make sure that you get there on time" Ukyo said in mock sternness, she was struggling not to laugh.

At the clinic, Ukyo assumed her stern boss role again and managed to talk her and Kentaro's way into the examination room with Mousse. "Mousse is Kentaro's life partner and I'm Mousse's sister; different fathers, same mother. That's why we have different last names" she explained, while both boys blushed. The nurse looked skeptical, but allowed them in during the testing.

Kentaro opened the door for Mousse "after you baby cakes" he said, blowing a kiss at him, then grinned when Mousse blushed again.

They waited impatiently while Mousse's eyes were literally measured, probed and prodded. Some of the tests caused them to wince, like when Mousse's head seemed to be thrust into medieval torture device. When all three sat before the doctor, waiting for the verdict; Ukyo took Kentaro's hand in nervousness and Mousse's in sympathy.

"It's treatable; he'll have perfect vision after his eyes heal" the doctor intoned. Mousse let out a breath he hadn't even realized that he'd been holding at the news, while he was hugged by one enthusiastic teen and whacked on the back by the other.

"Really?" he asked softly, unable to believe it.

"Yes, I can even schedule it for tomorrow if you want. I keep emergency appointments open for particularly bad cases" the doctor assured him.

"We'll take it" Ukyo declared.

"Okay, please get a sheet of how to prepare for surgery from the nurse"

"Thank you" Mousse said, feeling nervous and excited at the same time.

He blushed when Kentaro took his hand at reception. Kentaro gave him a kiss on the cheek and explained "He has such horrible eyesight that he likes me to hold his hand in public" he explained to the nurse affectionately. Mousse just glared back at him.

At Home

"This calls for a celebration" Kentaro declared. "Let's go out to dinner, my treat"

"We already have a restaurant to eat at" Ukyo pointed out in amusement.

"Let's go to a different one. Mousse it's your night. Where would you like to go?" Kentaro asked.

Mousse pondered the question and then said "I know of a great dim sum place if you're interested"

"I love dim sum, count me in" Kentaro declared.

"I've never had it" said Ukyo.

"You have to try it, it's delicious" Kentaro exclaimed.

"Okay, sounds good" she said. All three scurried off to change. Ukyo, on impulse pulled out a dress that she had never worn. It was a souvenir that a certain cross dresser had brought her back from China. It was a long, plum coloured cheongsam with gold sakura blossoms on it. She slipped into it, but couldn't figure out how to do the top up. She heard someone walking by "Mousse, could you help me?" she asked, poking her head out the door. Curious, he went inside. "I don't know how to do this thing up" she explained with a blush. He had it done in two seconds.

"Yes, Chinese clothing can be a little complicated if you don't know how to operate the various hook and ties" he agreed and stood back. "You look lovely; the rich colour suits your pale complexion and brings out your eyes. I've always loved the cheongsam, so versatile and suit every body type. Good for everyday wear or for a night on the town" he declared.

Ukyo raised her eyebrow at him "are you flirting with me Sugar?" she asked him.

"No, we may have made love, but my heart belongs to another and yours is similarly entangled. I like you just as a friend" Mousse explained.

"Yes, I love Ranma" she said with a frown.

"Of course you do" Mousse said in a slightly facetious tone of voice.

"I do love Ranma" she declared a little more forcefully.

"I didn't say you didn't" Mousse replied. "Now about your hair; would you like me to put it up for you?" he asked politely.

"Why, because married women are supposed to wear their hair up? I know he told you" she said.

"Yes and it was a bit of a shock, but that isn't the reason. Although the place where we going to isn't all that formal, traditionally it goes better with the dress. You don't need make up and jewelry would be over kill. However, it would draw attention to your face and that's what Chinese ladies want. Want to try it? Come on, who do you think does Shampoo's hair in all those elaborate styles?" he said persuasively.

Ukyo swallowed nervously and then handed him a box of hairpins and her hairbrush "Do it" she requested.

Ukyo stared in appreciation at Kentaro's black suit, black tie and white dress shirt. He looked gorgeous. He'd explained to her that he liked to dress in plain clothing as his appearance gandered enough attention without his adding to it. Then she noticed that he was staring at her in a stunned way. "Haven't you ever seen a girl in a dress before?" she teased.

Oh, Kentaro had all right, but not like the one before him right now. The cheongsam fit her curves beautifully and made her slim figure look amazing. Her hair was arranged into a complex knot at the back on her head. Mousse came around the corner and watched the look they exchanged, he smirked sight. He smiled when Kentaro offered her his arm and she took it shyly.

At the restaurant they were seated and Mousse ordered for all three of them. "Hi Mu Tzu, thought that you were with Xian Pu?" the waiter inquired in Mandarin, while he looked at Ukyo in appreciation

"Eyes back in your head Xu Ba Chang, she's with her husband" replied Mousse in the same language.

"Who the Japanese guy? Damn shame, she's hot" Xu Ba Chang replied.

"You will cease ogling my wife and making fun of me" Kentaro reprimanded him in Mandarin.

Xu Ba Chang turned pale and meekly said "I'll get your order right away sir"

"You do that" Kentaro answered warningly.

"You can speak Mandarin!" Mousse cried, after the other man scurried away looking horribly embarrassed.

"Sheh taught me, I have an aptitude for languages. I'm not great at Mandarin but know enough to get by" he explained.

"What did he say?" Ukyo asked confused.

"He thinks you're far too lovely to be wasted on the likes of me" Kentaro explained and was rewarded with her looking annoyed and glowing at the compliment at the same time. She allowed him to take her hand. Kentaro looked around the restaurant; it was a typical dim sum house. The walls were painted red with Chinese symbols everywhere. There were statues and Chinese lanterns and lots and lots of plants. The tables were large and layered with many disposable plastic tablecloths, which were removed after every guest left. The waiters and waitresses wore traditional grab and the music was soft Asian chords.

The food started arriving and they shared it, Ukyo go silly and started stealing it out of Kentaro's bowl. He countered this behaviour by stealing it from her's, until they just ended up feeding each other. Mousse smiled at their behaviour. The lights dimmed and they look on curiously when a beautiful Chinese girl, wearing a period costume entered onto the small stage and started to sing.

"They sometimes do Chinese theatre here" Mousse explained. "She's saying that her name is Wing and she is sad because her family engaged her to a prince and she's in love with a farmer" Mousse started and translated the entire show for Ukyo. Ukyo herself was entranced watching as tormented the noble born beautiful heroine was being torn emotionally between two men. She could see that she liked the prince; he was kind and loving to her. Yet the farmer was cruder, but equally as in love with her. The scenes flittered from her being with one, then the other. The final scene was where she was being pulled between the two of them literally and she died in sorrow at having to choose. Then the men never married and mourned her for the rest of their lives.

"That was beautiful" she declared. She didn't know that she'd been holding Kentaro's hand throughout the performance.

Feeling the sexual attraction mount between the two of them all evening, Mousse opted to retire for the evening as soon as they got home. Ukyo went to her bedroom and sat at her vanity to start to remove the pins from her hair. Kentaro softly closed the door behind him and stroked the back of her neck. He helped her remove them until her long, brown hair tumbled down her back. "You looked beautiful tonight" he said in a voice thick with emotion.

She stood up, feeling like there was something in the air. "Ken?" she questioned and then she was in his arms, returning his feverish kiss. He scooped her up and set her on the bed. They giggled at trying to wrestle each other out of formal clothing until they were skin on skin. Then it was no laughing matter. Ukyo's head lulled back while Kentaro loved her body with a reverence that border lined on worship. Her touch on his was just as adoring. When she straddled him, his eyes held a promise that made hers soften. Their kisses were tender and lazy while they moved together at a slow, yet passionate pace, as if dancing. Their hunger for each other made their movements more frantic, sending them both to the pinnacle; only for them to reach out to either other for more. They made love all night long. Just before final rest, Kentaro whispered "You make me so happy"

His sleepy and sated partners tightened her arms around him and whispered "you make me happy too" and then fell asleep in her lover's arms, feeling safe because she was with him.

Despite how little they'd slept, Kentaro was up at six am. He pulled on a pair of jogging pants and pulled out a shirt. "Ken, come back to bed" Uyko said groggily.

"I can't sleep anymore; I'm just going to do a quick workout. You get some more sleep" he whispered, giving her tousled head a kiss. She groaned and settled back into the pillows.

He strode onto the roof. Curious, she got out of bed and watched him pace through his kata. With no shirt on and his golden hair shining in the rising sun, he looked like a young sun god. She admired his gorgeous face set in concentration and each graceful movement that he made and the way his muscles moved under his skin. Ukyo was amused to see that there were several women and men at their windows watching him. She suspected that they watched his show every morning. Then he put on his shirt and jumped from the roof, landing neatly on the ground and took off jogging.

Ukyo went back to bed 'show off' she thought with a tender smile. When she awoke in a couple of hours, there was a pot of tea and a bouquet of purple roses in a vase beside her bed. Ukyo was intrigued; no one had ever bought her roses before. She poured some tea and picked up a rose. She got ready for the day and in a fit of silliness, tucked one behind her ear.

Kentaro was having his coffee, immaculately dressed as ever. "Hey Sugar, thanks for the roses" she said, giving him a kiss.

"You like them Mrs. Kobayashi?" he teased.

"Very much so Mr. Kobayashi" she said.

"They're called Burgundy Iceberg roses; I found them at a twenty four hour florist shop when I was out jogging. They reminded me of your dress from last night" he explained.

They pulled away from each other when Mousse came down and poured a cup of coffee; he gave them a look of amusement. "Perhaps I should buy a coffee maker for the guest bedroom for the rest of the time I stay here?" he suggested. Ukyo swatted him with a kitchen towel. Kentaro was glad to see them getting along. There had been a little awkwardness between them at first, after they'd made love, but they seemed to have gotten over that. The result seemed to be a deeper understanding of each other and stronger friendship; more like a brother and sister one at that. He doubted that sex would ever occur between them again, they both had other distractions. Still Mousse seemed to have come out of his funk.

Ukyo was surprised to see Akane by herself later on that night. She decided to talk to her about the ring. "Hi Akane, I wanted to say that I like your ring" she said cautiously.

Akane smiled "thanks, it was my mother's engagement ring. I normally wear it on my right hand, but I got a rash on it, so I had to move it to my left. The silly thing only fits on my ring finger" she explained.

Ukyo felt like someone had socked her in the stomach "So, that means that Ranma didn't give it to you?" she asked nervously

Akane put her nose in the air "like I would wear a ring he gave me!"

Ukyo ran to the kitchen where Kentaro was doing dishes. "I was wrong, they're not engaged. Ranma could still be mine!" she cried happily, almost dancing with happiness. "Aren't you happy for me?"

She jumped when Kentaro slammed a plate down onto the counter. "Why would I be happy about that!" he demanded.

"Don't you understand? I'm still his cute fiancée" she explained, not understanding why he was so mad.

"So this is what makes you happy? Being one in a harem of fiancées rather then being with me!" he said bitterly.

She finally saw the rage and grief in his face "Ken, you shouldn't get too attached to me. You know that Ranma will always come first"

"Always come first? He wasn't the one in bed with you last night. I'M the one that makes love to you, not him" he said.

"And I love sleeping with you, but that's all it'll ever be" she said soothingly.

"I thought things had changed last night. Didn't that mean anything to you?" he asked sadly.

"Oh Ken, I care about you, but Ranma's the one I want" she said, putting her arms around him; it was like hugging a statute.

"Have him then" Kentaro said coldly and pushed her away. "Why don't you tell me about what a wonderful life you're going to have together?"

"We are going to get married and open an okonomiyaki restaurant together and have many children" she said in a challenging voice.

Kentaro looked at her almost pityingly "Ukyo, he has no interest in opening a restaurant. He wants to run a dojo, as he could with Akane Tendo. The only thing he likes about okonomiyaki is to eat it. Grow up, how many years do you plan to wait for him to make up his mind?"

"What so I'm better off with you, Mr. Perfect?" she said facetiously.

"I'm far from perfect; I often do and say things without thinking. Most of the things I enjoy doing are considered geeky. I have chronic foot odour, which I thank you for not mentioning. I look like a goddamn girl and have to work out like a mother fucker so that I at least have a masculine body to counter the girly face I was cursed with. But my worst fault is that I'm a gullible fool for thinking that I would meet my wife and she want to be with me. I guess I'm not one of those people that can causally bed people without, as you say, 'getting attached'; like you can. I have to get away for a while" he said.

"Ken, stay here. Nothing has to change" she almost pleaded.

"No, I can't be your fuck toy while you plan your wedding to another man."

"Ken" she said, reaching out to him.

"No, I can't. Ryoga asked me to come away with him this weekend. I said I couldn't; now I guess I can. I am going to move into his rooming house until we leave. I need to go now. Please tell Mousse I'll be back in time to pick him up for his surgery tomorrow" he requested.

"Ken" she said clutching his clothes, he pried her fingers from him and stood back.

"I'll be back in time to see Aunt Suki; you can tell her that you hate my guts so you can get your divorce and never have to see me again" he said.

"Don't leave like this" she said.

"I care too much about you to stay and see you suck up to Ranma" he said.

Then she got mad "so we fucked a couple times. So what?" she snarled.

"That's all it was to you?" he said in a pain filled voice.

"Yes, will you stop being such a chick" she demanded.

"I'm a chick? At least I'm perfectly fine with being the sex I am. I wish you would realize that being a woman is beautiful and doesn't make you weak. You can be what are you and still kick ass" he said softly.

"Don't go" she said softly.

"Why? I'm just a chick that can't control his emotions, whose only use is as a dildo. Who needs me? Goodbye Ukyo" he said walked out the door.

Ukyo wondered why the onions were causing her eyes to water. Usually she chopped so many of them during the day, that they didn't bother her anymore. Then she looked down. Where were her onions? She was chopping carrots.

Flash Forward

Kentaro was in Ryoga's hometown of Renkoji, Tokyo at a local karaoke bar down the street from Ryoga's house. His mood wasn't as cheerful as the setting. They weren't old enough to drink, so they were just having tea and talking. Across the bar were two pretty girl at another table, they kept giggling and looking towards Ryoga and Kentaro. When they looked back at them, they would blush.

A couple minutes later they approached their table. "Hi my name is Hina and this is my friend Riko. Hina was a petit brunette with a curvy, hourglass shape and Riko was a tall, willowy blue haired girl.

"Hello Riko and Hina, would you like to join us for a drink?" Kentaro asked.

Riko seemed to be the bolder of the two, because she said "We'd love a drink. Perhaps you'd like to have one in my room while Hina and your friend get acquainted in her room?"

Kentaro was rather shocked at how pushy she was and opened his mouth to tell her that he was married, and then stopped himself. He felt a wave of sadness when he realized that being unwanted was pretty much the same as being single. "Sure, why not?" he said in a resigned sounding voice.

Just as he was about to leave the bar, he recognized the song that a beautiful American girl was singing. 'I'm Through With Love' by Ella Fitzgerald. She seemed to look right as him as she sang the final chorus.

Goodbye to spring and all it meant to me  
It can never bring the thing that used to be.  
For I must have you or no one  
And so I'm through with love.

He shared a look with her; each recognizing the deep sorrow in the other. Then he turned to his 'date'

Baby, I'm through with love.

"Let's go" he said, thinking of the condom in his pocket. He needed an anonymous body to pound his frustrations into, more then he needed more then the company of a beautiful siren to commiserate mutual sorrows with.


	9. Chapter 9

Kentaro was waiting in the clinic for Mousse's surgery to be over. He was almost as nervous as Mousse had been. The nurse came out; she beamed and said "the operation was a success,; your husband's eyesight will improved by one hundred percent after he's healed"

Kentaro leapt to his feet, "that's wonderful! Can I see him?" he asked.

"Sure, he's just getting last minute instructions from the doctor. He'll be right out" she replied.

Mousse walked out of the operation room. His eyes were completely bloodshot, but he said, "you've been crying"

"You can see!" Kentaro cried.

"Things are still kind of blurry, but its a lot better then I'm used to" Mousse said, smiling shyly. He blushed when Kentaro hugged him, but surprised himself by hugging him back.

"Come on buddy let's get you home. But you have to wear these every time you go out to protect your eyes. No cheating and wearing them on top of your head" Kentaro admonished sternly, handing Mousse a pair of sunglasses. They had a sleek wrap around frame and looked expensive.

"What type are they?" he said cautiously.

"Versace, they're the best ones on the market. If you have to wear eye protection; you might as well do it in style" Kentaro said and put them on the other boy. "Hey handsome, you look like a movie star" he said brightly. Mousse wasn't buying his upbeat act for a second. Sure enough, when they got back to the apartment, Kentaro hesitated. "I can only come in for a few minutes," he explained.

"So she chose Ranma?" Mousse guessed; he started forward in concern when Kentaro's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm fine, Kentaro assured him, while rubbing them hastily away. "I'm staying at Ryoga's rooming house and will be going away with him for a few days. Ukyo's said you can still stay here, but if you change your mind, you can take over my room while I'm away."

"Kentaro, I'm so sorry" Mousse said in a soothing voice. "I honestly thought that it was you she loved."

"Me too" Kentaro said sadly, but managed to hold his tears at bay.

"So now what? Are you leaving?" Mousse asked, just as sadly.

"Once we talk with her mother and explain to her that we simply aren't compatible, then I have to go back. I miss my family and other friends and have responsibilities there that I can't neglect anymore. Mousse, if you ever decide you want to leave here, call me and you'll be on the next plane bound for Kyoto. I never want you see you hurt like this again, I care too much about you. I mean it" Kentaro said in a deadly serious tone.

"I promise I will. I'll miss you. I feels like my parents have split up and they're working out the custody agreement for me" he said sadly.

Kentaro hugged Mousse again "I have to go, make sure you wear your sleeping goggles for the next few days and no working too hard, your body's still healing from the beating as well as the surgery" he admonished.

"Yes dad" Mousse said in amusement and surprised them both by kissing Kentaro on the cheek.

Kentaro blushed and pulled away gently "if you were a girl, I'd have been sunk," he observed.

"It would have been the same for me if you were one; I'd have forgotten about Shampoo in a second" he replied.

"Would you mind looking after Ukyo for me? I don't mean spy on her and report it to me. Just make sure she's alright," Kentaro said, trying to smooth over the slightly embarrassing conversation.

"I promise," he said. "Thanks for everything, I mean it. I couldn't have asked for a better friend"

"I feel the same way," Kentaro replied, and then he left after ordering Mousse to try and get some rest.

Ukyo

Mousse was woken in the night by the sound of Ukyo's weeping. He took off his goggles and knocked on her door "Ukyo, can I come in?" he asked softly.

"Yes" she replied in a pain filled voice. He took one look at her tear stained face and drew her against him, forgetting that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Ukyo was a little surprised to be nestled against a lean chiseled chest, but held onto him and cried her heart out until there was nothing left. "Thanks Mousse" she said sniffling. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" she asked.

Mousse blushed and glanced at his damp chest "They get tangled around me while I sleep and that hurts my ribs" he explained, indicating his still swollen side. He wore just a pair of sleep pants.

Ukyo pushed back the covers "It's cold in here, get under the covers" she said and scooted over. Mousse did and she cuddled against his undamaged side and he draped his undamaged arm around her.

"You're crying because you miss Kentaro," he observed.

Ukyo could feel the tears start again. "Yes, why does he have to be so stupid? I told him I would be with him until I marry Ranma" she sobbed.

Mousse, wiped her tears with his thumb "you can't ask a person to accept half of a relationship, for a guy like Kentaro it's all or nothing. He only wants to be with you. It's a weird situation that you're in; if you had stayed in Kyoto and grown up with Kentaro, knowing that he was your husband, then you would have been in love with him by now. The same would be true of Ranma if Genma Saotome had let you come when he accepted your father's suit. But Ukyo, I want you to realize that you're crying over Kentaro right now, not Ranma. What does that tell you?" he asked.

"I can't be with Ken, I'm engaged!" she cried.

"You were married to Ken first," Mousse pointed out.

"But Ranma!" she protested.

"Is a nice guy. Yes, he's handsome and a skilled martial artist, but he has a lot of growing up to do emotionally and has to decide which girl he wants and let the others know. It isn't healthy for you to wait around and stalk the guy like you do. You're a beautiful woman and you should have your own man to love you and take care of you" Mousse said soothingly.

"I don't know what to do, I can't stop thinking of either of them" Ukyo said sadly. "Gods, I'm a horrible person for what I said to Ken!" Ukyo cried.

Mousse leaned up to stare into her eyes. "You're not horrible at all, you're kind, sweet and loyal. You took me in when I had no place else to go. You took care of me. You fed me and asked for nothing in return. You made love to me when I thought I was the most ugly, despicable creature on this planet and hated myself. You gave me a job. You treat me with respect, I'm not used to that. You healed my eyes. Your touch is the tenderest I have felt since my mother. You have no clue how grateful I am to yourself and Kentaro," he said.

Ukyo felt tears spring to her eyes. "Ugly? You're gorgeous," she declared

Mousse looked skeptical "Me?" he said with a frown.

"Yes, you hot tamale" she said and touched each feature as she named it "you have the face of an angel and perfect, pale complexion" she said stroking his face. She touched the side of his brow gently. "You have the most beautiful aquamarine coloured eyes and soon you will be able to show them to the world." She stroked her hand through his hair "you have all this glittering black hair and it's gorgeous." Then she rested her hand on his chest "you look scrawny when you wear your robe, but in actual fact you have a hot, sculpted body. Then she squeezed his butt, he blushed. "And you have a cute, round bottom" she said with a smile.

"If I'm so cute, then why doesn't she want me?" he asked sadly.

"Because Shampoo's an idiot, who can't see what she has" Ukyo proclaimed, getting angry.

"A lot of people are like that," Mousse observed.

"Why don't you stop hounding her and publicly humiliating yourself and just sneak into her room and offer yourself to her? I'm sure she touches herself in the night and would like to be satisfied." Ukyo suggested.

"She would kill me," Mousse said in alarm at the idea.

"Or she would welcome you with open arms. You never know until you try" Ukyo said.

"What if she never wants me back?" he said sorrowfully.

"I honestly don't want to you go back there if she will do this again" Ukyo said lightly touching his wrist and running a soft hand down the swollen skin of his ribs. "Mousse you could stay here with me and work for me. We can redecorate your room and we can make love every night, no one needs to know" Ukyo suggested.

He shook his head "I can't be another cousin to you nor a replacement for the one that you're missing. I want my own love and my own destiny. Ukyo, if it wasn't for Shampoo, I would have been interested," he admitted.

"Me too Sugar" she admitted. "Could we just make love tonight then? I don't want to be alone" she said, blushingly.

Mousse gently started undoing the buttons on her sleep shirt and slipped his hands inside to lightly pinch her nipples; she moaned. "It would be my pleasure," he whispered, opening the garment completely and laying her bare. He worked it off of her and then pulled off his own pants, throwing them over the side of the futon. His mouth captured her nipples and teased them unmercifully and then he slid lower to taste her sweet sex. Ukyo gasped as his tongue lashed her clit and opened her hot legs wider to allow him to deepen his attentions. She bucked against his fingers as he pumped them into her liquid heat and rode them to ecstasy. Mousse smiled into her glistening coose and looked into her beatific face. He stroked her taunt flesh, which was lightly covered with perspiration, his eyes showing her of his hunger for her. She pushed him onto his back again and went to straddle him "Ukyo, condom" he reminded her, and then moaned when she impaled herself on him shallowly.

"Can't stand the things. It's right after my period, I should be safe" she said persuasively and eased more of him inside her, causing him to buck his hips to enter her more fully.

Just before his sanity deserted him completely, he whispered. "It's a good thing that I didn't agree to your suggestion, the place would be crawling with Chinese-Japanese hybrid kids in no time" he remarked.

"They would have been adorable" she said in a tender voice and then got down to the business of blowing his mind.

She curled up in his arms after. "I love you," she whispered on the edge of sleep, mistaking identities in her slumber.

Mousse put his goggles back on and kissed the sleeping teenaged girl on her forehead. "I wish that you'd said that to him when he was actually here in my place" he whispered and then joined her in slumber, dreaming that the girl that he had just made love to had lavender hair.

Kentaro

Kentaro was in Ryoga's hometown of Renkoji, Tokyo at a local karaoke bar down the street from Ryoga's house. His mood wasn't as cheerful as the setting. They weren't old enough to drink, so they were just having tea and talking. Across the bar were two pretty girls at another table, they kept giggling and looking towards Ryoga and Kentaro. When they looked back at them, they would blush.

A couple minutes later they approached their table. "Hi my name is Hina and this is my friend Riko. Hina was a petit brunette with a curvy, hourglass shape and Riko was a tall, willowy blue haired girl.

"Hello Riko and Hina, would you like to join us for a drink?" Kentaro asked.

Riko seemed to be the bolder of the two, because she said, "We'd love a drink. Perhaps you'd like to have one in my room while Hina and your friend get acquainted in her room?"

Kentaro was rather shocked at how pushy she was and opened his mouth to tell her that he was married, and then stopped himself. He felt a wave of sadness when he realized that being unwanted was pretty much the same as being single. "Sure, why not?" he said in a resigned sounding voice.

Just as he was about to leave the bar, he recognized the song that a beautiful American girl was singing. 'I'm Through With Love' by Ella Fitzgerald. She seemed to look right as him as she sang the final chorus.

Goodbye to spring and all it meant to me  
It can never bring the thing that used to be.  
For I must have you or no one  
And so I'm through with love.

He shared a look with her; each recognizing the deep sorrow in the other. Then he turned to his 'date'

Baby, I'm through with love.

"Let's go," he said, thinking of the condom in his pocket. He needed an anonymous body to pound his frustrations into, more then he needed more then the company of a beautiful siren to commiserate mutual sorrows with.

He arrived in Riko's room; she closed the door and turned to him impatiently. "Take your clothes off," she demanded.

Kentaro was confused at how abrupt she was "Don't you want to have a drink first and get to know each other a bit before we have sex?"

"I want to fuck you, not marry you. Take your clothes off so that I can see the goodies," she said with a leer. Kentaro complied and blushed while she circled around him, staring at him hungrily.

"Nice" she said in appreciation. Then pulled her own clothes off and lay on the bed. "Fuck me. Or are you a fag?" she taunted.

Kentaro felt rage at the comment and went over to the bed in a challenging manner. He lowered his head to her nest of blue curls to eat her; he gasped in surprised when she grabbed his hair and yanked him away from there with a sharp tug. He winced "I don't like oral sex, I get off of penetration, so stick it in and do your job" she snarled.

"Look I'm leaving, I don't like being treated like a slave," he said, pulling away from her.

"How old are you?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him.

"Sixteen" he said.

She blew a raspberry "a baby, probably still a virgin" she taunted.

"I'm not, I'm used to being treated with respect by my sexual partner, not being ridiculed," he said.

"As I thought, a pretty boy fag who's probably having a lark pretending to be straight while traveling" she said evilly.

"I am not. Fine, you like it rough, you'll get it rough" Kentaro said and forced her onto her hands and knees. "Stay there!" he ordered and slapped her ass in a stinging manner when she protested.

He put on the condom and slammed himself into her cunt with one brutal shove. He pounded her as hard as he could, wanting to bruise her. She screamed from one orgasm to another, she liked it rough and Kentaro was well endowed. Kentaro abandoned his usual style of gentle love making for hours, to masturbate into the bitch like she was nothing more then a jug he was using. It lasted only ten minutes and was full of hate. He pulled out of her the second he was done, like he found her pussy distasteful. "Thanks, now get dressed and get out!" she ordered him.

"Believe me, I don't want to stay here a second longer then I have to" he spat and raced into his clothes and slammed the door after him. He called Ryoga and requested that Hina direct him back to the bar when they were done so that Kentaro could take him home. She was a much nicer person when her friend, because she said she would bring him there personally.

Kentaro sat down and ordered a tea. He let his bangs flop forward to hide his emotional state. He didn't understand why people like Riko felt she could treat someone she had sex with so cruelly. Kentaro could never do that. He was more then a piece of meat. Sure he was attractive, but he only was tall and blonde because his father was too. Did he deserve cruel treatment? Is that why Ukyo rejected him, he was too easy going? He thought of making love to Ukyo and felt like his body was covered with slime after touching someone so horrible. Like he would never be clean again. He felt that he wasn't even worthy of her after he had debased himself like this. 'Oh well, good thing that she rejected me' he tried to tell him and felt a tear slide down his cheek. He brushed it away and noticed the girl singing from earlier.

He smiled tearfully when she said in English to a waiter, while giving him a slight bow "thanks for the fork, jerk. I supposed that just because I'm white I can't handle chopsticks" Then she looked at Kentaro "What're you looking at pretty boy?" she snarled.

"You insulting people that you think can't understand you" he replied in English.

"You can speak English!" she said.

"I spent a year in America" he explained.

"Can I buy you a drink? I don't speak the Japanese language hardly at all and I've been kind of lonely. I just want to talk to you," she said.

"Have a seat," Kentaro said, pulling out a chair for her. She sat down.

"My name is Sandy Alexander, yes like the brandy." She said with a roll of her eyes.

"Kentaro Kobayashi" he said, shaking her hand.

"I take it that your date is over?" she asked.

Kentaro looked at her sourly "it didn't even really begin as far as I'm concerned" he said feeling a wave of sadness. He wasn't surprised when Sandy pushed his bangs back, American were not known for their subtly, he'd discovered while he lived there.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"No I'm not" he replied and burst into tears. She slipped her arms around him and listened while he told her about finally meeting his wife, how she had rejected him and finally, about what had just gone on with Riko, between anguished sob.

"Poor you, you seem like such a nice guy. You don't deserve any of that." She said soothingly, while she stroked his back. "This Ranma guy doesn't sound so great and that Riko girl is a douche" she concluded.

Kentaro pulled himself together. "Thanks for listening" he said wiping his eyes on a napkin.

"Would you like to come back to my room? Just to talk" she said hastily at his expression. "My boyfriend of three years just dumped me and I'm not ready to make love to anyone yet" she explained.

"Is that why you're in Japan by yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, it was supposed to be his nineteenth birthday present. He's one of those people that are obsessed with Japan and everything about it. I saved every cent I made from my two part-time jobs for three years to pay for this trip. I vacation package and gave it to him on his birthday. He dumped me three days later for a girl he just met; she's Japanese" she said with an ironic smile. Kentaro couldn't resist smiling at this. "Yes, I know it's a little funny. Well, I decided to come by myself. I miss home," she said.

"Me too" he replied.

"Well Kentaro, I have to get some sleep, my bus is leaving at six in the morning tomorrow. I hope that things work out between you and your wife," she said, giving him a final hug "I sounds like you love her a lot"

"Yes I do" he replied, hugging her back and wishing he had had a chance to tell that to Ukyo before she dumped him. 'Probably for the best' he concluded.


	10. Chapter 10

Btw, Ryoga as a 'divie' was just a career that I invented for him. I thought it would suit someone like him. Guess I've watched too many episodes of Lovejoy, originally written by Jonathan Gash as novels then later adapted to the TV show :)

******

Kentaro

Kentaro frowned as he walked back to Ryoga's house. The first time that he had seen it was laughable, there were signs everywhere, pointing the direction to the various rooms. It was a house the Ryoga owned outright and hadn't been to for several years, as he hadn't been able to find his way home. Ryoga had surprised Kentaro when he had announced that he made his living as an antiques diviner, one of the rare people that the antiques actually speak to, to let him know their worth. Ryoga would bumble around the country and find antiques at obscure locations, then buy them from their unsuspecting owners. He would then re-sell them to his regular customers for a tidy sum and ship them from the town before he left it so they wouldn't get 'lost'. Therefore Ryoga was actually quite loaded, but constantly lost. "Come on Kentaro, it's this way" he said, pointing in the wrong direction.

"Ryoga, we're a block from your house and it's straight down the road. How could you possibly be lost?" Kentaro asked.

"I don't know" he replied.

"I got you a present, it's a new cell phone with GSP on it, and there is a feature for walking and for driving. Just plug in the address that you need, or intersection and you just have to follow this right to your destination" Kentaro said, holding it out to him.

"Gee thanks, I was thinking about getting one of these" he said, touched by the thoughtful gift. Then asked, "how was your time with Riko? Hina was really nice" Ryoga said.

"Riko was certainly something all right; but we didn't really get along all that well" Kentaro understated.

"Sorry to hear about that. I guess you'll be glad to get home to your cousin then?" Ryoga said facetiously.

"What do you mean by that?" Kentaro demanded.

"Oh come on, everyone can see that you two aren't actually related. There's zero family resemblance, and then there's the hungry way that you look at each. It's pretty obvious" Ryoga stated.

"Does Ranma know?" Kentaro asked.

"The boy may be oblivious, but he isn't blind. So are you sleeping with her?" Ryoga inquired.

"I'm married to her" he admitted. His head was spinning with the implications of what Ryoga was saying. Kentaro realized that he might have ruined any chance Ukyo had with Ranma anyway.

Ryoga looked shocked at first, then disapproving when Kentaro told him the story. "That's just disgusting" he declared.

Kentaro was surprised by his vehement reaction, "why?" he asked.

"Your parents took the choice away from the pair of you; by marrying you off so young. Your teens are supposed to be about dating a lot of people and getting your heart broken a number of times, before you worry about finding a life partner. Teenagers are only half formed people that are too immature to accept the reality of what marriage is actually like" Ryoga explained.

"Are you sure? All I've heard discussed, since coming to Nerima, was people discussing getting married; especially to Ranma" Kentaro said slightly sarcastically.

"Yes, but Ranma has the emotional and sexual maturity of a six-year-old because he spent his formative years in the company of his father, who isn't much more mature then himself. He's light years away from being ready for his first kiss, let alone marrying anyone. Then let's examine his fiancées: Shampoo has to marry him because of her laws, but in actual fact, is more like a spoiled brat not wanting to share her toy; Ranma being her toy. Ukyo genuinely likes the guy, but it's more like a school girl infatuation. To her, he represents her enjoying being a girl again; after all he inadvertently robbed her of that in the first place. Akane Tendo is also emotionally immature and has a lot of growing up to do, before she could claim him as she actually wants to. As for Kodachi, no one can figure her out; I suspect its just lust that could be easily satisfied if Ranma was willing. In the end, he's more like a trophy to be battled over and won to all of them. No one asks him what he wants, or who he wants to be with. They have little regard to his feelings. Yet, they always interfere when he tries to make a decision because they worry that they might not like it. I kind of feel sorry for the guy" Ryoga explained.

"But why would so many smart women choose someone who doesn't want them in return?" Kentaro asked, he was somewhat baffled by the conversation. It was bringing up so many points that he had never considered about his own situation.

"They are sixteen year old girls; all they are thinking about in terms of marriage is a white dress, a wedding and rings. They don't consider income required to support a family and stupid fights over meaningless things. Or how a relationship has to be elastic enough to stand up to family crisis, loss of income, infidelity, unexpected illness and all the various things that make a marriage successful or not. Trust me, as the fiancées get older, go off to college and meet other people, they're going to start dropping like flies." Ryoga predicted.

"How do you know so much about this stuff? Kentaro asked.

"I've been engaged for a year and get to observe a lot of different sort of relationships with my unique problem" Ryoga explained. "Her name is Akari and she loves pigs. We've both decided that we're going to get married after she graduates college and I'm going to use her Sumo Pig Farm as a basis for my business" he explained.

"But Hina?" protested Kentaro.

"Is a nice girl that I enjoyed talking with, nothing else happened. I told her that I'm engaged and I'll tell Akari about tonight, as she knows that she can trust me. That the most important part of being in an emotionally stable, responsible relationship, trust is a must."

"So you're saying that if I want to be with Ukyo, then I should give her a divorce to give her time to discover herself and decide who she wants to be with?" Kentaro asked.

"I'm not telling you what to do; Ukyo's the most developed of all the fiancées because her circumstances made her grow up in a hurry. That she's a sixteen year old girl, who goes to school full-time and supports herself by running her own business, is nothing short of remarkable. She's great girl who will turn into an even better woman. The woman is the one that you want, not the confused teenaged girl. Are you willing to let her become who she's supposed to be before you claim her in marriage?" Ryoga asked.

"What if she marries Ranma in meantime or finds someone else?" Kentaro asked.

"That's a chance you have to take. Ranma's not her destiny as much as she's convinced of that now; all he feels for her is friendship" Ryoga explained.

Kentaro nodded, lost in thought at what his friend was telling him. He wondered if a divorce was the only way to show Ukyo that he loved her and trusted her.

Ukyo

Ukyo was enjoying people's reaction to the newly sighted Mousse. He wore a pair of black slack and a black long sleeved t-shirt that showed off his swimmers build to perfection. The all-black clothing made his glittering hair look even shiner and drew attention to his aquamarine eyes. That is why Ukyo had helped him choose this outfit to show off the new, improved Mousse. He looked almost ethereally beautiful. As a waiter he was friendly, quick and efficient. Every order, he got correct and he didn't have to guess where the guest might be seated anymore, he spoke directly to them and looked them in the eye.

"Looking good Sugar" she said in passing. He almost glowed at the compliment, until Shampoo walked in.

Ukyo hurried over him and whispered "act cool; don't lose your head. If I hear a single, 'Shampoo Darling' you're doing all of this week's cooking" she threatened in a joking manner.

Mousse nodded nervously, called on all of his self discipline and said, "Hi Shampoo" in a causal sounding voice.

Shampoo narrowed her eyes at his lack of reaction to her presence. "Stupid duck boy, come home now, we no want pay new waiter anymore!" Shampoo demanded of Mousse, without a single hello or inquiry as to how he was doing.

Ukyo stepped forward "I'm sorry but Mu-san is working right now and can't go with you" she said in a professional sounding voice.

"Duck boy mine, he come with Shampoo!" she demanded. Meanwhile Mousse could only stare from one to the other. He was struck dumb that someone was actually standing up to Shampoo and over him no less.

"Mu-san, might I examine your left hand?" inquired Ukyo; a confused Mousse extended it to her. She searched his ring finger and then said. "I don't see a wedding ring. In what way does he belong to you?" Ukyo asked politely.

"Shampoo not marry Mousse, he serve Shampoo because he male. Is honour for him to serve female Amazon" Shampoo said stubbornly. "Now Mousse get things and come Shampoo!" she ordered Mousse.

"I can't allow that until we settle on his salary" Ukyo replied.

"Salary? We no pay Mousse work for us in café!" Shampoo cried. She blushed when people gasped upon hearing this and started whispering, while shooting her dirty looks.

"Slave labour, isn't that illegal? I know it is in Japan. How about China?" Ukyo asked facetiously. "As Mu-san's employer, I have to insist that you at least match what I'm paying him and that he gets to keep one hundred percent of his tips. Or shall I call the labour board?" Ukyo inquired sweetly.

"Mousse no is yours!" Shampoo snarled.

"No, but it seems to me that you've been hoarding one of the finest pieces of male ass in Nerima for yourself and you're horrible to him. The only person who he belongs to is himself" Ukyo said looking at the blushing Mousse.

Comprehension donned on Shampoo, she turned white and gasped "you sleep with blind Mousse?"

"I didn't say that; but doesn't he have the cutest strawberry mole on his right buttock?" Ukyo asked, giving the flabbergasted Mousse a loving look. She handed him an order slip "I can't make out this girl's handwriting, can you read it?" she asked him innocently.

Mousse read off "two seafood okonomiyakis" he replied slyly.

"Mousse can see?" Shampoo cried with a gasp.

"Yes, he isn't blind anymore. He just had laser surgery and his eyes should be permanently fixed." Ukyo explained.

"That good, now he work better, faster in café" Shampoo said happily.

"Not until his salary is decided on. There are going to be some changes made to his life. Come to my office" she ordered the both of them. "Mu Tzu, please lift your shirt" she requested. Even Shampoo gasped at the state of his ribs. Ukyo touched them gently "You did this to him and then you threw him out of his home late at night. Why? Because he wanted to take you to see a movie! Have you any clue how much pain he was in?" she hissed. "Thank you Mu-San, you can go back to work" she said, smiling at him.

"Sorry those are the boss's orders" Mousse said with a shrug. He was currently enjoying Shampoo's shock, so he wasn't blindly following her

"Mousse come back here!" she shrieked.

He paused and calmly explained "Shampoo, I'm being paid to work here and can't neglect my job" and then walked away.

"Now listen here bitch, you've been acting like a slave driver to him since you were three. No more, you shall pay him to work for you like a proper employee and treat him with the respect he deserves. There shall be no more insults or name calling on your part; he has a name, use it. Further more, if you touch so much as a hair on his head, then I shall report you to the police. I shall be coming over once a week to make sure that he's alright, if I have to strip search him. Then there's the matter of his slave quarters; he needs heat installed in his room and the room itself needs to be fully redone. Or I'll call the labour board; your visas would be revoked so fast that your head would spin. He's not going anywhere until I get an answer from Cologne on of all these points! I shall have to see physical proof before I let him return to that hellhole of a café" snarled Ukyo.

"No longer in love with Ranma, you want duck....Mousse instead?" Shampoo taunted.

"You don't have to be in love someone to want to help them. Mousse is my friend and I won't see him hurt again. If you need to take care of your sexual frustrations in the future, go buy a dildo" Ukyo taunted back.

"How dare you! Shampoo virgin" she cried.

"You should try getting laid. It might help make you a nicer person" Ukyo commented. "Now get out of here and call me when you have an answer" she ordered.

"You know we deported, then Mousse come too?" Shampoo threatened.

"No, my cousin and I shall find a way to keep him here if he wants to stay" Ukyo replied.

"How you marry Mousse?" Shampoo sneered.

"If that's what it takes to keep him away from a bitch like you, then perhaps" Ukyo sneered.

"I like he want stupid girl who want be boy! He want Shampoo!" she declared.

"That's not what he said last night. It was my name that he was moaning, not yours" Ukyo replied evilly. Ukyo was rewarded with her going pale 'so she does like him a bit at least' she thought.

"You lie, Mousse virgin too, like Shampoo!" Shampoo cried.

"I don't know why it should bother you? But, he was a virgin before me and now he isn't" Ukyo replied with a charming smile.

"After he come home, you stay away Mousse!" Shampoo snarled.

"Sorry Sugar, I'm coming by to visit him whenever I want. You try and stop me and I'll just have to tell Ranma that you like to abuse your men. He wouldn't even consider you for a wife then" Ukyo threatened. "Now get out of my restaurant and have Cologne call me" Ukyo ordered and waited until the ill tempered brat stomped out then she went downstairs and pulled Mousse aside. She could tell that he had been bothered by the part of the conversation that he'd heard.

"She's gone. I made some demands on your behalf that should make your life better from now on and keep you safe" she explained.

"Why did you tell her about our sleeping together?" he asked with a blush.

"Nothing like a little competition to make a guy seem more attractive" Ukyo replied with a grin.

"So I go back and then what happens?" Mousse asked apprehensively.

"Your living conditions will have improved and you will get paid for your work. If they give you any trouble, then you come right back here or call Kentaro" Ukyo told him.

Mousse looked at her thoughtfully, "but I don't know if I can even act like they expect me to anymore. I am too used to being able to speak my mind around people" he explained.

"Good Sugar, we managed to corrupt you and made you Japanese. You shouldn't have to act subservient around Shampoo or Cologne because they're no better then you" Ukyo explained. Mousse dropped his jaw to hear someone say that about two of the most powerful warriors in his tribe. Ukyo stroked his jaw closed "no catching flies now" she said tenderly. "I don't know what you see in Shampoo, but I hope you find what you're looking for with her. I just want you to know that love shouldn't hurt, bruise or shatter your ego. It should be gentle, kind and supportive. You have a lot of offer a girl. I hope that you won't settle for someone who is all wrong for you, just because some silly law says that is how men are supposed to act. Women have been battling the same role for centuries; be a man and stop thinking as an Amazon male does. You're not in China" Ukyo declared.

"What you're saying goes against everything I was taught." Mousse explained, he was confused, as he felt himself changing and had no connection to either place now.

"I'm not an Amazon Sugar, but I will still kick some Amazon ass if she hurts you again. Even if you don't tell me, I'll find out somehow" she threatened. She hugged the confused boy. "Come on Mu Tzu, let's close the restaurant and then watch some TV.

He brightened a bit when she said his name correctly, as she made a point of doing when they were alone together. "So you can pronounce my name?" he teased.

"Well, if I can sleep with a guy then I should be able to say his name properly" Ukyo said modestly

They were both eating a snack when the phone rang, Ukyo answered. Cologne said without preamble "we agree to your demands, all of them. Please send Mousse home"

"You swear on your honour as an Amazon that you won't go back on your word?" Ukyo inquired.

"I swear" agreed Cologne.

"You swear that neither one of you shall do or say anything further that might damage Mu Tzu either physically or emotionally?" Ukyo demanded, while Mousse looked nervously on.

Cologne sighed "I swear"

"Good, put Shampoo on the phone" Ukyo requested.

"Yes?" said an annoyed sounding Shampoo.

"I want you to swear on your honour as an Amazon, that you will not attempt to take any of the privileges that I demanded for Mu Tzu and that you will never again hurt him either physically or emotionally" Ukyo repeated for Shampoo's own oath.

Shampoo blew a raspberry "yes, Shampoo swear. Now send stupid blind duck boy home" she declared.

"Send who home?" Ukyo asked in a dangerous voice.

"Sorry habit old. Send Mousse home" Shampoo said more humbly.

"Sure, I'll bring him home tomorrow. We've both worked hard today and need to relax and blow off some steam" Ukyo replied and hung up on her.

Mousse looked at her amused "You know what way she's going to think that we're blowing off steam?" he pointed out, while Ukyo leaned back against him.

"You don't hear me saying no" she said, waggling her eyebrows at him. She cracked up when the still shy boy blushed. She still missed Kentaro, but having Mousse around was nice too.

The next day Mousse donned his white robe, he hadn't worn it since the night he had arrived at Ukyo's apartment. The need to treat his ribs on a constant basis had made it more practical for him to wear Kentaro's western clothing. This also prevented any weopons from rubbing against his healing wounds. Not that he was wearing any weopons now, they were packed into a bag that Ukyo had insisted on carrying, along with other things that she demanded he needed.

He walked the few blocks to the Neko Hanten; it felt like he was entering another country. A hostile one at that, judging from the glare that Shampoo gave him when Ukyo's back was turned. He shivered slightly; the last time she had looked at him like that, he had ended up injured on Ukyo's doorstep. He wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake in coming back here. Then forced himself to buck up; he loved Shampoo and belonged here with her.

He looked on in surprised when Ukyo examined his salary proposal and debated it with Cologne until he had paid benefits. He followed up the stairs while Ukyo examined his hastily altered room. Mousse now had heat being pumped into the small place, which had been painted his favourite colour of blue. A brand new thick futon, with high quality sheets and pillows was in place of the small, narrow worn one. Completely absent, were the crates of food that were normally stored in the already cramped room and in their place, was a small desk and dresser for his clothes. Ukyo examined everything and said in approval "this will do, if he needs anything else, I shall let you know. Please walk me out Mu-San" she requested, using his more formal name as she did in public. She led him just down the block. "Okay I understand if you need to do this, but if you ever change your mind, then come back to my apartment. The door will always open to you and a job waiting. You don't have to have sex with me, I just like your company and will miss you" she said honestly.

"I'll miss you too. I promise I'll come for lots of visits, but this is where I need to be" he said, feeling sad that he was leaving the company of his friends. He had become used to living with them and enjoyed a close friendship with them.

Ukyo smirked when she saw Shampoo and Cologne watching them from their roof "Give me a final kiss then Sugar?" she asked and drew him into a deep kiss. He blushed that it was so public a place, but kissed her back. His blush deepened when she placed her hand squarely on his butt. She peered over to see Shampoo blushing 'prissy little bitch' she thought.

Ukyo had barely departed when Shampoo stormed into Mousse's room just as he was unpacking. "So you think you just good any person? You Amazon male, you inferior, you should know place!"

"I didn't say that, Ukyo was the one who insisted on all this. Not that I'm not grateful to her. I would have returned anytime you wanted me to because I love you" he said, reaching for her. He was now so used to receiving physical affection from people that he had forgotten he was addressing Shampoo.

She pushed him back against the wall "I no care you sleep with cross dressing girl, you nothing to me! I care you let her insult me. You will pay. Shampoo punish you for defying her" she snarled and then left the room. Mousse accepted what she said and then sat down on his bed and wondered again if he was doing the right thing.


	11. Chapter 11

Ukyo

Ukyo was nervous the next day when Kentaro was to return. She had slept in an empty apartment for the first time in weeks and had missed her boys. She had grown used to waking up to the lively sounds that only teenaged boys can produce. Instead she had woken to just the muffled street noises and bird song. Her tea had been drunk in silence and she even made some coffee, just so the smell of it filled the room. It made her feel a little less lonely.

She sat down and contemplated Ken; she cared about him so much and missed him horribly. Mu Tzu's company had filled up her life and she cared for him almost as much as Ken. The thing was that Mu Tzu was more like the companionship period of relationship, after the honeymoon was over and Ken was the red-hot honeymoon itself. Then there was Ranma, she loved him and still wanted to marry him. She'd planned her entire future around this and she knew he was her destiny. She knew him better then the other fiancées and knew in the end that he would be hers and hers alone. 'But Ken' her brain supplied. 'You know you want him' it added.

"Shut up brain" she mumbled and then blushed when she realized she was talking to herself. Ken was going to go home soon and resume his life. Even the friendship she shared with Mu Tzu wouldn't last when he got back to being his usual dopey self around Shampoo; leaving Ukyo living alone again, possibly for years until she married Ranma.

She wondered if she should get a cat and then decided not to because this made her think about Shampoo. She frowned at that, she had never liked the Chinese bimbo before, there was something sneaky about her and she despised her now that she knew her true nature. She felt responsible for Mu Tzu and had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to him. She stopped her contemplation, got ready for school and departed.

Kentaro

Kentaro arrived at the restaurant and unpacked after his weekend, he was still a little upset by Riko and was glad that no one was home yet. He knew that Ukyo was at school, but wondered where Mu Tzu was. He was considering checking the Neko Hanten when there was a tapping at the door. He opened to the door his father and his Aunt Suki, they smiled at him. "Hi Dad, Hi Aunt Suki" he said and gave them each a hug. He fixed some coffee for them, seeing that the machine was already on and the coffee ready.

Ukyo

Ukyo let herself into the apartment and could only gap at the two people present, wondering if she was caught in some future flash forward. The woman had her face and a more mature version of her own body and the male was like an older, more distinguished version of Kentaro, only with shorter hair. They all gaped at each other until the woman said "Ukyo?" in a dubious voice. Not sure what to make of the young man before her in his school uniform with his hair in a long ponytail

Then it dawn on Ukyo, this was her mother! "Mama!" she cried and ran to hug her. Suki Kuonji's eyes grew wide to feel that her daughter's chest was bound by bandages.

"Ukyo let me look at you. Don't you look lovely?" stated the ultra feminine Suki, she was the juxtaposition of the daughter; she loved frilly garments and tall boots. Kentaro didn't even realize that she was who he based his taste in women on. She looked again at the youthful looking male in her arms and said "did you get my presents?"

Ukyo started crying to be in her mother's arms again and laughing at the same time at her mother's reaction to her cross dressing. "Yes she did" said Kentaro when he walked into the room. Ukyo started forward to hug him, but then blushed when she realized that both parents looked on.

"Glad you're back Mr. Kobayashi" she said formally.

"Glad to be back Miss Kuonji" Kentaro said, refusing to play their usual game. He knew what he had to do now and it wasn't going to be easy for him. Ukyo winced at his use of her real last name. "I don't believe that you've met my father, Haru Kobayashi?" he introduced them.

"It's nice to meet my daughter-in-law again" he said with a friendly smile that was so heartbreakingly like his son's. "I hope you don't mind my joining your family reunion, but now that we have located you, we have to decide on your future with my son"

"True" said Suki "we have to decide what to do with your little restaurant here. I think that perhaps it can become part of our chain and we can move our own chef in here when you move to Kyoto. Then there's your schooling to consider, I think that finishing school would be in order" she suggested, eyeing Ukyo's clothing distastefully. "Then there is a matter of whether you're going to live with Kentaro's family or if we should buy you your own house"

"Whoa, who said that I was going to give up my business or move?" demanded Ukyo.

"Well, you can't stay here. There is so many things that you'll have to learn in order to be a proper Kobayashi wife. They're all expected to be skilled chefs, perfect entertainers and polished ladies" Suki explained.

"But what if I don't want to be one?" Ukyo asked, frowning at Kentaro.

"You're already married and should have gone to finishing school long ago to prepare you for your future with him. Kobayashi wives are the sparking jewels in the crown that is their family"

"I never asked for this! I never even met him until three weeks ago and now you tell me that I have to give up everything that I worked so hard to achieve to become nothing more then a pampered rich bitch! I refuse" she cried.

Suki looked confused "don't you like Kentaro? He's considered to a real catch by most"

Ukyo traded a look with him and blushed, "I like him just fine, it's the situation that stinks" she replied.

Suki caught that look, "so your marriage has been consummated? That's good" she said shrewdly, causing both teenagers to blush.

Kentaro stepped forward "Ukyo what do you want to do? No one to force you to do anything you don't want to"

"I want to stay here with my friends, I want to run my business and I want to marry my fiancée" she said, feeling like she was lying.

"Fiancée?!" Haru and Suki said together.

"She hasn't seen me for thirteen years, of course she was going to find another" Kentaro said sadly, feeling the tears burn behind his eyes.

"Who?" Suki demanded.

"Ranma Saotome" Ukyo proudly said.

"Saotome? Is his father Genma Saotome? Your father used to drink with a man by that name" Suki said.

"Yes, that's his father" Ukyo replied.

Suki snorted "Well I've met his father; Ranma must look like Mr. Potato Head"

Kentaro stepped closer to Ukyo and said "No Ranma is quite handsome and apparently the man for her. I promised her a divorce and I shall let her have it" he declared.

"Ukyo you can't be serious. Do you know what you're passing up?" Suki said.

"I'm passing up a husband that I didn't choose for one that I did" she with a challenge in her voice.

"She's right; I support her in her decision. Don't you realize, Dad, Aunt Suki that we're both too young to make this decision. I can't force her to be with me anymore then you can" Kentaro declared.

"The two of you together are the hope for this generation" Suki protested.

"We aren't anything to each other but friends" Ukyo declared and watched the pain flood into Kentaro's eyes.

"See father, I told you? We don't much like each other and need to get divorced immediately!" Kentaro said to Haru.

He sighed with sorrow. "Very well, come son, we shall decide on her divorce settlement" he said to Kentaro and led him in the direction of the restaurant.

"Ukyo again, do you realize what you're passing up?" Suki pleaded.

"Yes, I know he's rich, good looking and smart" she said.

"Yes he's all of those things, but he's also kind, sweet and loyal to his friends and family. He has a very active social life and yet he still volunteers at a homeless shelter, is a big brother and a little league coach for improvised youths. Kentaro's special and I don't mean just how he looks. He would make a great husband and father, if you would only get to know him and gave him a chance" she practically begged. "You would have a wonderful life together"

"Yes, by giving up all the I have achieved on my own to become a perfect little Barbie doll of a daughter and wife in Kyoto" Ukyo sneered.

"He could move here for a few years perhaps, until you're ready to make the transition? That way you would have a chance to get to know him and decide if he's the one for you" Suki suggested.

"He's not Mama, he belongs in Kyoto and my home is here" Ukyo declared.

"I could order you home; you're a minor still and shouldn't be left on your own" Suki said somewhat sadly.

"But you won't. Mama, I'm fine on my own. I do want to get to know you and will come for visits or you can come visit me. Both way, I'm still your daughter and nothing can change that. I missed you"

"I missed you too, but I think still think you're making a mistake" Suki cautioned.

Kentaro joined them "okay, the details are all worked out. We could just register it at the courthouse, but I would rather go through lawyers if that's okay with you. I want to make sure the financial arrangements remain intact" he said barely looking at Ukyo. Suki looked from one to the other and then suggested to Haru that they go back to their hotel.

"I'll miss you" Ukyo said.

"I'll miss you too" Kentaro replied. "Your mother is going to stay at the hotel to visit you for a week or so and I'm going back to Kyoto tomorrow" he explained.

"Why so soon?" she asked sadly.

"I need to get back to my normal life and wouldn't want to cramp your style anymore" he said bitterly.

"But I like having you here" she said softly.

"I like being here, but we both lead separate lives and I have responsibilities where I live. Ukyo, I will be back and I haven't given up on the idea of us in the future, but only when you want me as your husband, not like now where that was forced on you" Kentaro said.

"Do you love me?" she finally asked.

"Yes" he said with a strangled sob. She put her arms around him.

"Ken I love you too in my own way but......." she started.

"I know, the reason for the divorce is because I love you. Find your path and then find me if you still want me" he said. Then they were kissing. He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He undressed her reverently as if she wore a gossamer gown of the rarest silks rather then a schoolboy uniform and chest bindings. She almost sobbed as he removed the elastic from her hair and revealed her in her full femininity. His mouth and fingers explored her body as if memorizing her every curve. She moaned with abandonment as he first sucked on her already diamond hard nipples and then moved lower to taste, for perhaps the last time, his lover's secret flesh. Her pussy was already wet for him and her honey dripped onto his tongue with every heated lash of it. Two swift licks on her clit sent her over the golden edge and she came in a flood, screaming his name. No longer able to wait himself, he drove himself into her still pulsating sheath before her orgasm was even completed. Ukyo whimpered as he pounded all of his frustration, love and longing into her all at once, until they shattered together in perfect synchronicity.

"You're leaving" she stated, recognizing for the first time that he actually was.

"Ukyo, I want to stay, but I can't" he whispered to her and kissed her cheek.

"I could give you a few years at least" she offered. "Stay here with me" she almost pleaded.

"I can't be satisfied with that, I wish I could" he said, then frowned. "Ukyo I slept with someone this weekend" he said unable to lie to her.

"Who?" she asked.

"A girl I met in a karaoke bar, I didn't enjoy it. She was a bitch" he explained.

"I slept with Mu Tzu" she said. "It was more of a comfort thing for both of us" she explained.

"I don't mind you sleeping with him, he's my friend too" he said.

"I don't have any right to say that you can't sleep with anyone else" she said sadly. "So this is goodbye"

"For now, but the night isn't over" he said starting to kiss her again.

Kentaro and Mu Tzu

Kentaro stepped into the Neko Hanten; he was shocked to see it completely busy and an exhausted looking Mu Tzu run off his feet while Shampoo filed her nails.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" he asked her.

"No him want to be employee waiter, I be manager. Manager no waits tables" she said.

Kentaro took one look at the scene of chaos and went to help his friend until the lunch rush was finally done.

"Like your friend, he not need be paid. Make good male Amazon, unlike you" she fired at him and went into the kitchen.

Concerned, Kentaro helped his friend to a chair, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked him.

"Just having trouble sleeping" Mu Tzu said, happy to see a friendly face again.

Flashback

Mu Tzu had been allowed perhaps two hours sleep a night since returning and was exhausted. Shampoo kept on coming up with archaic chores all night long to ensure that he remained awake. He'd returned from picking up a shipment of seafood from the docks, which he was scheduled to pick up the next day. With a groan he spilled onto the new bed he had yet to enjoy a decent night's sleep in.

"Mu Tzu, you enjoy new job?" he heard a voice asking. He turned to see Shampoo seated at his desk and his patience just gave out.

"Get out and let me sleep, it's only a couple of hours before daybreak" he commanded her.

"No, you have clean stock room. Get up, I make sure you paid for time" she said smiling evilly.

"Why are you doing this to me? Don't you know that all I want to do is to love you?" he asked.

"You sleep with cross dressing chef girl, you tell good reason, perhaps let you sleep" she said.

"She cares about me, she values my opinion, and she hugs me. There are many reasons. But the main one was that, she's my friend who needed comfort and support as much as myself" he said tiredly.

"Aw Mu Tzu want hug, so sweet. You weak" she said with a laugh. "You get out of bed, clean stockroom" she ordered. "Or you report bad Shampoo your girlfriend?" she taunted.

Mu Tzu threw his blankets back with a moan of defeat.

End Flashback

"You look exhausted" Kentaro commented. He felt that something sinister was in the air. "Does this have anything to do with Shampoo?"

"No, of course not, I'm fine. Are you back for good now?" Mu Tzu asked hopefully.

"Sorry, I have to go back to Kyoto" Kentaro said, causing Mu Tzu's heart to plummet. "Ukyo and I are getting a divorce; I think it's for the best. But I would request that you still take care of her for me as a friend" he inquired.

"I slept with her again" Mu Tzu admitted.

"I know, I'm glad its you at least" Kentaro assured him.

Mu Tzu caught Shampoo impatiently gesturing for him to come into the kitchen. "Look I have to go back to work. Will I see you again?"

"You bet, I will visit quite a bit and you have to come see me soon. Goodbye" he assured him and hugged the other male, who hugged him back.

"Goodbye" he whispered into his ear, feeling like he was going to cry. Summoning all of his bravery, he went into the kitchen to find Shampoo pouting while Cologne was scolding her in Mandarin.

She turned to him and said "I have only now become aware of the nightly torments that my great-granddaughter has caused you. As this is against the oath that she took; you must contact your fiancée to see how she wishes to receive compensation for this" she said formally.

"My w-what" was all that the shocked Mu Tzu could answer, while Shampoo looked just as goggle eyed.

Cologne looked impatiently from one to the other "that's the problem with you youngsters, you like to read about the marriage by defeat laws because they're flashy. You never bother reading the others. Mu Tzu's suit was rejected by Shampoo, causing him bodily harm. Then another woman took him into her home to take care of him and they became intimate. You did sleep with her, didn't you boy?" Cologne asked bluntly.

He stammered. "I don't care where you dip your wick as long as it doesn't concern our tribe, which it does in this case. So yes or no?" she admonished.

"Yes" Mu Tzu replied, blushing like mad.

"So he slept with her and then she started speaking for him; meaning she claimed him. Therefore, by Amazon law they're engaged and she has the option of joining the tribe as a full warrior upon their marriage" Cologne explained.

Shampoo looked at him with rage in her eyes 'this isn't over' it plainly read. Mu Tzu suddenly wished he were far, far away.


	12. Chapter 12

Mu Tzu was in his room looking up the law that Cologne had mentioned, in the book of laws that he had borrowed from her. Sure enough, there it was. It roughly translated to "Engagement by Assumption," the gist of it was, that if a man was injured in his pursuit of the woman he wanted and he was rejected. Then if another woman, who fancied him, decided to take him into her home and nurse him and the two made love. Then she had a right to claim him by public proclamation. The sex was the key, if the male did so willingly, and then it showed that he wasn't opposed to the match. Therefore, the couple was considered to be pretty much married, until it was finalized, by at least a token effort towards Marriage by Defeat. So by Mu Tzu seeking Kentaro's help by going to Ukyo's that night, her helping to nurse him, eventually making love to him and finally speaking on his behalf and saying he was under her protection; she ultimately claimed him away from Shampoo.

Mu Tzu almost had to laugh and was quite sure the Ukyo would find it funny, that according to the laws of a small tribe in China, they were pretty much married. Mu Tzu wondered sometimes if the laws were as 'screwy' as she had proclaimed them to be. They made little sense when analyzed.

Both sexes in his tribe were trained in martial arts until they were fourteen. At which time the, girls were given the option of continuing training to become warriors or to stop and seek other professions, such as farmer, like his mother.

The training for the boys ceased all together, unless they sought an independent teacher, like Mu Tzu had, to further their training. After the boy's training was complete, then they were instructed in the domestic arts of cooking, gardening, cleaning and sewing. Then they were placed with a family for a year, to learn from the husband of young children how to care for their own some day.

Then there was the intense sex education that the boys had to go undergo at that tender age. It was unclear what instructions the girl received. Mu Tzu still blushed when he thought about it; the Amazons were very thorough in their education of the young. Not only were the young men subjected to very graphic descriptions of how to pleasure a woman, but masked volunteers were brought into the classroom to visually demonstrate how to apply their learning. Not that the boys were allow to participate or touch the models. The boy's virginities were prized almost as much as the girl's. It was arranged this way, so when a man won his choice of wife, then he would be secure in the knowledge that she was untouched and she would have an unsullied, but skilled husband. Although causal sex wasn't actually forbidden, it was usually only done with the newly widowed or divorced. This would often lead to remarriage.

Then there was the marriage by defeat law itself to consider. If the women were so much better trained in martial arts then the men, then why make it a combat situation if the one of the sexes had an advantage over the other? Did the women not want to get married? Not that cheating didn't go on. Quite often, if a woman liked a man who was challenging them, they would take a dive and let them win; Mu Tzu's Mother had. Or the two witnesses were bribed into saying that he won, so that their marriage could go forward.

Mu Tzu wondered if Japanese system, where you won a woman by charm and personality and bound her to you by giving her a ring that had to be accepted, wasn't better. It'd seemed stupid at first when he'd heard of it, but now he had to wonder which system was stupider. He pulled out the prepaid cell phone that Kentaro had given him before he left, so that neither woman could listen in on his private conversations and called Ukyo. He dreaded to have to tell her about the revelation over the phone, but had been tip toeing around a volatile Shampoo. He'd made a point of not hanging out with Ukyo lately, for fear of angering her. When Ukyo came on the phone, he quickly explained the situation and was surprised when she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Well Sugar, I'm not even divorced yet and have two fiancées. I'm turning into Ranma" she said with amusement.

"You don't mind?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why should I mind? It's only enforceable in China and even then, only in one village. Besides, we could use this to our advantage" Ukyo pointed out.

"You can abolish it by publically declaring, before Shampoo and Cologne, that you renounce me" he explained.

"And throw you to the she-wolves? No thanks. We'll just have to make it a long, long engagement Sugar. Is there anything I have to do to keep up the pretense?" she inquired.

"Spend time with me to make sure that other women don't get the impression that I'm still wife hunting" he explained.

"Yeah, like I can. You seem to be avoiding me" Ukyo said, somewhat peeved.

"Sorry, I know that I promised to visit. But things have been kind of tense with Shampoo lately because of the engagement thing and I don't want to anger her any further. We could do a Thursday thing if you want?" he suggested. They had gotten into the habit of having dinner and a movie night every Thursday while they lived together. They took turns making dinner and the one not making dinner, got to choose the movie. It was usually quite fun.

"You got it Sugar, I feel like making tacos again; you feel like a little Mexican?" she asked.

"No I feel like a tall Chinaman" he joked.

"You kill me, see you then Sugar" Ukyo said and rang off.

Kentaro

Kentaro was in his lawyer's office, signing the final divorce documents. Divorce in Japan, like marriage, was a matter registration. However Kentaro had opted to go through lawyers, incase Ukyo attempted to refuse any of the settlements that he intended to make on her.

"Sign here, your wife already has signed it, then it's a matter of delivering it to the office tomorrow and then you're officially divorced" his lawyer explained. With a heavy heart, Kentaro signed away all of his rights to claim the woman he loved as being his wife. "Are you sure about the amount? I mean the spousal support payments are going to be pretty hefty as it is. What's she going to need another forty five million yen for? She's only sixteen" his lawyer inquired.

"For whatever she chooses to do with it. We can certainly afford it and it will make her life a whole lot easier. Make sure that it's delivered to her immediately, courier it overnight" Kentaro said and left the office to meet up with his friend.

He used his own key to get into the other boy's house, as he normally lived online when not minding his store and hated to be dragged away from his computer. "Mu Sheh, I'm here" called Kentaro.

The Chinese boy turned around and smiled at his friend. The reason why Kentaro had recognized Mu Tzu as being related to his best friend was because the two boys were virtually identical. The only difference between them, was Mu Sheh was a little shorter, wore his hair only to his shoulders and lacked Mu Tzu's muscular definition as he led a much more sedentary lifestyle. "Hey Kentaro, I'm beating a Russian guy on World of Warcraft. Want to plug the babble fish into your ear and have a go at him?" he asked.

"No, not feeling up to it, it's not everyday a guy gets divorced" he replied. He was surprised when Mu Sheh turned off his computer and turned to face him.

He took a sip of his ever present cream soda, "do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly, noticing how upset his friend looked.

"Not much to say, she got what she wanted. She's going to continue to live in Nerima while I get to hang out with the likes of you" Kentaro said somewhat sarcastically.

"Umm" Mu Sheh said, not sure how to respond to that. He sensed there was something Kentaro wasn't telling him "And my cousin, how does he fit into all this?" he asked.

"They're sleeping together" Kentaro admitted.

Mu Sheh almost spit out his drink in shock. "I'm sorry; do you mean MY cousin Mu Tzu? Big, tall shy guy with long black hair and blue eyes; who Japanese people call Mousse out of mispronunciation of his Chinese name. THAT Mu Tzu?" he said faintly.

"Yes, that's the one" confirmed Kentaro.

Mu Sheh goggled at him "Wow, I never knew that he had it in him. I thought that he was too obsessed with his 'darling Shampoo' to even look at another girl" he said in awe.

"Well he's looking at another girl; my wife" Kentaro said.

"That bother you?" Mu Sheh asked.

"For some reason no, I trust him to be good to her and like him a lot" Kentaro replied

"Well, he is an honourable guy. Better him then half of the scumbags around" Mu Sheh concurred.

"How come you don't belong to his tribe?" Kentaro asked curious.

"Simple my mother was born here and met my father when she was visiting relatives in his village. He explained the marriage by defeat law, she said 'fuck that' and they were married in a courthouse. Mu Tzu's father was my father's brother and he remained in the village and married an Amazon female. Leaving Mu Tzu to be brainwashed into believing he's scum compared to women and his life should be spent serving them. I've tried to teach him differently, but there's no changing the habit of a life time; especially since he's so bent on marrying that tool, Shampoo the Amazon way"

"You don't approve of her?" Kentaro asked.

"I've never met her in person, but what I've learned from inquires I've made in the past I don't like. She sounds selfish and spoiled, with a violent temper" Mu Sheh replied

"She's like that" Kentaro concurred and told him about how she beat his cousin.

Mu Sheh sat up in horror "so it's even worse then I thought. A guy like Mu Tzu would probably just let her beat him as much as she wanted. That's what he was he taught to do, to please the woman he loves. Especially since he was conditioned to try harder then other males, because he believes he's inferior to them because of his vision problems. He probably wouldn't protest if she beat him to death. It's too bad; Mu Tzu's really smart and could really go places in life if someone just gave a shit about him" Mu Sheh observed. This caused Kentaro to ponder.

Mu Tzu

Mu Tzu was surprised to see Ukyo come in the Neko Hanten as he wasn't suppose to see her until later that night, he asked Cologne if he could take a five minute break and she concurred. He gestured for Ukyo to come to his room.

"Ukyo are you okay?" he asked, noticing her eyes were swollen from crying.

"I'm officially divorced and Ken sent me this" she said, holding out a cheque. Mousse's eyes got wide at the amount "What should I do, should I take it?" she asked hesitantly.

Mousse thought about it, "If he's as rich as you say he is, then he obviously wants you to have this. You could always invest it in secure bonds and make it grow, until you really need the money for your education or something like that" he suggested.

"I guess you're right. Thanks Mu Tzu", she said, giving him a hug and starting downstairs.

Their passage was blocked by Cologne "Kuonji-san, I see that you have come discuss what compensation you shall accept from Shampoo, for keeping your fiancée awake for nights on end and allowing him little sleep. What do you choose?" Cologne said respectfully with a bow.

Ukyo glared at Mu Tzu while he cringed; this was news to her! Mu Tzu hadn't told her about the situation because he didn't want to incite the wrath of Shampoo, for fear that she would take it out on Ukyo. "What compensation should I accept for causing harm to my fiancée, when she swore on her honour as a warrior, that she wouldn't indeed? I think that she shall have to deliver all of today's orders wearing only her underwear, while riding her bicycle" Ukyo said feeling mean.

Cologne and Mu Tzu goggled at her "are you sure that's what you want?" Cologne asked slowly.

"Yes, they don't have to be sexy undies, just as long they are a bra and panties that look like they are that and not a bikini. I don't care" Ukyo announced, crossing her arms over her chest and looking as serious as possible.

"Very well" Cologne said and descended the stairs.

"You should be careful, Shampoo's dangerous" Mu Tzu whispered to her.

"I can handle myself Sugar" she assured him, just as Shampoo's voice thundered throughout the restaurant "cross dressing chef want what!"

Later that Night

Mu Tzu was stricken by the sight of a blushing Shampoo peddling her bicycle down the street wearing only a pair of shoes, purple bikini panties and a matching bra. She had several deliveries to do and she was stopping traffic wherever she went. That and there were the wolf whistles and crude comments that people kept making, which she only half understood. She glared at him when she went by him; murder in her eyes. He couldn't help laughing.

He let himself into Ukyo's apartment and inhaled with appreciation, the smell of Mexican food. "Smells good" he commented, accepting a hug from the chef.

"What did you get to watch?" she asked, glad to see him.

"Star Wars Episode One" he replied.

"Otaku (geek)" she replied. "How many times have you watched each episode?

"About ten times" he replied with a blush.

They ate and laughed like old friends and then did the dishes together. Ukyo dimmed the lights and they put the movie on. Mu Tzu didn't think anything of it when she curled against him; he just draped an arm around her. She sighed slightly when he stroked her shoulder, he pulled her closer and she put her head on his shoulder. He shifted slightly and brought his lips gently against hers in a ghost of a kiss. She leaned forward and captured his lips with her own, slipping her hands under his hair to stroke his back. They kissed unhurriedly, waiting to see how far the other wanted to take this. Her fingers started deftly undoing the ties at the back on his robe and undid his belt. He congratulated himself on having the foresight to leave all of his weapons at home, save for a few knives, for fear that Ukyo might injure herself while trying to remove his clothes. He helped her lift it over his head. Ukyo hesitated for a second when he started undoing the ties on her shirt, then helped him remove it; he was surprised to find she wasn't wearing a bra. She placed his hand on a breast, silently pleading with him to love her. Mu Tzu teased the proffered bounty with his fingers and lips, then slid his hand down her taunt belly to rub her clit through her leggings and panties, causing Ukyo to moan, until the dampness soaked through the fabric. With trembling hands she helped him skin them off of her and then she turned her attention to the drawstring on his pants. She undid it and helped him push them off until both were naked. He eased a finger inside her, she was slick and ready. With another silent plea from her, he pushed her onto her back and crawled forward between her legs to position himself against her humid passage. He leaned forward to kiss her while he drove himself inside her with one firm shove. She gasped inside his mouth. His strokes were long and deep as the kisses they shared while they made love at an unhurried pace. Both treasured the intimacy, as much as the act itself while they moved in time together. She panted against his neck and would sometimes deposit kisses on his shoulders and collarbone, like she was bestowing treasures upon him. He would stop and hold himself deeply and firmly inside her while she came, to allow her no distractions from the intensity of her orgasms, and then would start to move again. They only sped up while he was nearing his own completion and he was rewarded when they reached it together, she clung to him while he shot deep inside her hot channel. Rearranging themselves; she pulled down the quilt that she kept on back of the couch and covered them both. They fell asleep curled up like puppies, enjoying their combined body warmth and cherishing the closeness of the other. Neither one noticed the pink cat who watched them through the window the entire time. Her eyes were narrowed in anger.

Mousse awoke a few hours later, noticed that it was after midnight and dressed in a panic. Wanting to avoid angering Shampoo, he woke up Ukyo. "Ukyo, I've got to go" he said gently. She grumbled to be woken up from her warm nest of smooth skin and soft blankets and tried to draw him back underneath the covers.

"Will I see you soon?" she asked in a voice thick with sleep.

"Of course" he said, brushing back her hair and kissing her cheek.

"Mousse why do you let me sleep with you?" she asked.

"Because you're kind to me" he said and then felt like he had just shot himself in the foot when her eyes went wide.

"You don't have to whore yourself just because I'm not mean to you" she said in a tight voice.

"I'm a sixteen year old male. We don't normally tend to refuse beautiful women wanting to have sex with us" he assured her and gave her a hug. "Now go get some sleep" he suggested.

Appeased she said, "okay" wrapped the blanket around herself and stumbled in the direction of her bedroom. He watched her go with a smile and then let himself out. He wasn't worried about leaving a part of himself behind when he returned to China because Ukyo used the sponge. She told him that she would insert one before he came over, just in case they decided to make love. He knew that she was honourable and if he were to check her garbage, he would find the freshly discarded wrapper from what was keeping them safe. He suffered no illusions that she was madly in love with him, but he also knew that she didn't use him as a substitute for Kentaro either. He knew that she enjoyed making love to him and that they shared a deep connection. It wasn't love and it wasn't just friendship, it was something else entirely.

He let himself into the Neko Hanten, knowing that it was safer to go through the restaurant because it brought him closer to his room. "Mousse have fun with slut?" Shampoo asked from the corner where she'd been hiding. "Or it Mousse that slut" she taunted.

"Don't call her that" he said in a tight voice.

"Shampoo saw you make yourself filthy with her. Disgusting" Shampoo sneered at him.

"You watched me! You're the one whose disgusting Shampoo. How dare you follow me!" he hissed at her. "Why did you follow me?"

"Want see if she actually slept stupid duck boy. She did. You Amazon male, should keep for marriage, but no. You corrupt, no one want now" she snarled.

"I was saving myself for you for when we got married. Why hold onto something if no one wants it?" he asked to her.

"You marry me, that ridiculous! You not fit shine Shampoo's shoes" she said with a giggle. Then she narrowed her eyes at him "cute joke earlier, everyone laugh Shampoo. Get on knees, last beating feel like walk in park compared now" she ordered.

He crossed his arms in front of him "No, I refuse to. I won't let you as it goes against the oath you took. Remember what you promised Ukyo?" he reminded her.

"You mine, you need punish, I punish. Now get on knees" she ordered again. Mu Tzu studied the love of his life in front of him. Right now all she looked like was an evil, spoiled brat. He looked for even a trace of love or even like for him in her and couldn't find it. He thought back to how safe and secure he'd felt at Ukyo's and reached a decision.

"Fuck you Shampoo. I'm leaving. I'm moving back to Ukyo's and taking her up on her job offer. I'm sick of taking abuse. I'm sick of here. I'm sick of being an Amazon and I'm mainly sick of you!"

"Mousse can't leave!" she cried.

"I'm going where I'm appreciated and that isn't here. I hope I never see you again. Have a nice life, bitch. Be sure to give Ranma my best when he dumps your sorry ass just like I am" Mu Tzu said with a sneer and turned to go.

In a blinding rage, Shampoo grabbed the metal pole that she used to pull down the security gate in front and brought it down on the back on his head as hard as she could. It was a good thing the first blow knocked him unconscious so he couldn't feel rest rain down on his back and shoulders. Shampoo gasped when he lay unmoving and face down in a spreading puddle of blood. "Great-grandmother" she screamed in panic.

Cologne pogoed down the stairs and looked on in horror as Mu Tzu's white robe started turning a uniform red. She looked at Shampoo and said in as calm a voice as possible "What have you done, Child?"

Shampoo could only shiver and clutch tightly to the bloodstained pole.


	13. Chapter 13

Just so you know, I had to take poetic license with the Japanese emigration laws. Yes I did look it up and know that naturalization takes five years or that you have to be in Japan married to a citizen for ten years to apply for landing status. In the interests of my story, it's going to be more like the Canadian or American immigration system where it just takes a few years. I apologize to any Japanese people reading this story. I am not implying that your immigration laws are worse or better then ours. But, just need to shorten the time frames a bit.

I am thinking of adding one more chapter, not sure yet.

******

Cologne quickly examined Mu Tzu's injuries and was relieved to find that none of them were life threatening. "Pack you things child, we're going to China tonight" she commanded.

"B-but great-grandmother" Shampoo protested.

"Shampoo, what you did could be considered attempted murder by the laws of Japanese. We aren't citizens of Japan and are only here on visas, we have to get out the country now" she commanded.

"But Mousse" Shampoo protested, she was still in shock over what she did.

"We shall get him help as soon as we are safely on the plane. Now just pack what you really need while I call the airport" Cologne ordered and called to find out that there was a plane departing in an hour and booked them tickets for it. Then she walked over to Mu Tzu and carefully moved his hair out of the way to make breathing a little easier for him. She dared not reposition him for fear that she would aggravate his injuries. "I'm sorry to leave you in this condition, but my great-granddaughter is the future of our tribe and must be protected. Goodbye Mu Tzu" she said to the still unconscious boy.

Shampoo packed and considered what had made her attacked Mu Tzu like that. Of course she had always thought him handsome, but he was too weak for her to consider as a possible husband. Yet seeing him naked in the arms of another woman had brought out jealous tendencies that she didn't even know she possessed. What was he to her? A childhood friend who never grew up? The person in her face every day demanding love from her that she couldn't give him?

Yet lately he'd changed, he'd started talking back to her and questioning her orders, whereas he used to just follow them blindly. Speaking of blindly, without his glasses girls had started to take notice of him and she hated that. Then there was Ukyo wandering in and out of their lives, claiming to be his fiancée and mocking his female superiors and filling his head with nonsense about equality among the sexes. What was so great about her? She didn't even seem to be able to put him in his place as women were born to do. She let him do whatever he wanted.

Then Shampoo realized that they were leaving Mu Tzu in Japan and he was just here on a work visa, therefore he would be here illegally once his employers left. But it wouldn't be too hard for another employer to apply for a work visa on his behalf. Leaving him in Ukyo's employment, living with her and sleeping with her. Shampoo wouldn't have it! She picked up the telephone book and called the immigration hotline. "Hello, I like report illegal immigrant. He work visa cancelled" she told the officer that picked up the phone.

Ukyo was awoken to the sound of a phone ringing. Groggily she picked it and said "hello?"

"Kuonji-san you must go to the Neko Hanten right now. Mu Tzu is alive but badly injured" Cologne said and then hung up. Ukyo grabbed the nearest clothes, not caring if they matched or not and ran out the door; praying that it was a joke. Finding the door of the Neko Hanten unlocked, she tore it open and cried out to find Mu Tzu lying facedown in a puddle of blood. She dropped to her knees and lightly touched his hair. Her fingers came away sticky with blood. She felt like this couldn't be real. It had to be a joke, any second now he was going to turn over and give her a mischievous smile. She whimpered, touching his back gently, trying to wake him up. He was going to wake up and whine about having blood in his hair and on the cloak he was so proud of and then Ukyo would have to wash them both just to shut him up, she thought with a smile at the vanity that he displayed towards those two items. Then she realized, that it wasn't a joke and he was really was badly injured, the blood was real! With a gasp, she whipped out her cell phone and called for an ambulance. When they arrived with the police, they quickly loaded him onto the gurney and went to close the ambulance door, but Ukyo blocked it "I want to go with him" she demanded.

"Only family members are allowed to accompany an injured person" the paramedic explained.

"I'm his fiancée" Ukyo said, drawing herself to her full height.

The paramedic looked skeptical because they were both so young, but allowed her to come. She took a seat alongside Mu Tzu and held his hand. She thought about how they had made love just a couple of hours earlier and wished that he'd stayed with her, while the ambulance screamed into the early morning hours.

At hospital, due to the severity of his injuries Mu Tzu was rushed into a private room and his cloak was cut from him. Everyone was so busy paying attention to him, that no one noticed Ukyo slipping in beside him. They put the cloak aside and Ukyo picked it up, thinking that he would need a new one. He was so proud of his cloak, it was the one defiant act that he'd made against his oppressions. That he had not just a skilled martial artist, but a master of his chosen form. Ukyo hugged it to her, not caring that it was covered with blood. 'Where did he get it and how can I go about getting it replaced?" she wondered, as the tears ran down her face while the doctors poked and prodded at him. There were deep bruises all over his smooth back, the same back that she'd stroked so many times. He had come to her place starved for affection, she remembered. Once she and Kentaro had realized that Mu Tzu was crying himself to sleep each night, they had taken turns sitting with him. She remembered the first time she'd touched him, he'd woken up crying out because of a bad dream and she had just simply climbed onto the bed and drew him into her arms. The eyes that he'd turned on her were so wary and scared that she'd just hugged him closer, as if she could protect the wounded boy from the world. He'd made a sound of surprise and then relaxed into her embrace. He'd eventually fallen asleep and she'd eased him back onto the bed and continued to hold him. The doctor finally noticed her and sharply said "put that down, it's considered to be a biohazard because of the blood and must be destroyed"

"You can't destroy it, it's his cloak" she said with a sob.

"Someone get this girl out of here" he said impatiently and a nurse took her arm.

"No, I'm his fiancée. The ambulance driver said I could stay with him" she protested.

"She's his fiancée" the nurse told a doctor.

"I have ears. Look, Miss, you can sit in the waiting room, but you can't stay in here. Mr. Mu's going to need blood tests and x-rays taken so that we can assess the damage done to him. He's a very sick man right now and we need to find out how to make him better. I'll personally come talk to you when I know what's wrong" the doctor assured her.

"Come on dear" the nurse said leading her out. Ukyo felt so tired and refused to give up the blood soaked rags in her arms. Her eyes felt like boiled eggs from lack of sleep and crying.

The doctor finally came to see her. "He will live, but his injuries will take a long time to heal. He has a slight skull fracture, but it looks like his shoulder took most of the blow, or it could have been much worse. There shouldn't be any brain damage. However, both scapula bones are cracked and his clavicle bone is fractured, as well as three ribs. He's lucky in the respect,that none of the blunt force trauma inflicted on him hit his spinal column or he could have been paralyzed. He'll need the attention of a good physiotherapist when healing is done, but should be fine after that. We just need to keep him here a few days to rule out possible brain damage for sure, but he can go home after that" the doctor explained to a revealed looked Ukyo.

She hugged him "thank you" she said.

Ukyo went to the nursing station to ask for Mu Tzu's room number, when she overheard a man talking to the nurse. "So Mu Tzu actually is injured? How long before he leaves the hospital so that we can deport him?" he asked.

The nurse looked at his chart "it says here that he's due to be released in a few days" she told the immigration officer.

"Thanks" he said.

Ukyo stopped him "I'm sorry, did you just say that you were deporting Mu Tzu?" she asked.

"What's it to you? I'm here on official government business. Mu Tzu was reported as being an illegal alien now that his visa is cancelled, therefore he's being sent back to China" he explained.

"Mu Tzu's my fiancée and you can't send him back there. He's badly injured and needs proper medical care" she demanded.

"How old are you?" he inquired.

"Sixteen, like him" she replied.

"Then there's nothing that you can do. You can't even marry without your parent's permission. I'm sorry miss, but I'm just doing my job. If you want to help him, you can pack his things for him and deliver his luggage to his port of exit" he suggested with sympathy in his voice.

"If I do get permission to marry him, then he can come back right?" she asked.

"Sorry, once he's been deported from Japan, he'll never be allowed back" he said and left.

Ukyo could feel tears welling about the further indignity that was about to be visited upon the emotionally vulnerable boy. Then she realized that she wasn't giving up without a fight. She picked up her cell phone and called Kentaro "Ken, I need your help, they're going to deport Mu Tzu" she said without preamble and filled him in on everything.

"Stay there, I just need to hire an immigration lawyer and I'll meet you in the hospital" Kentaro said. "There has to be something we can do" he assured her.

"There is, I'm going to marry him" Ukyo said with determination in her voice. Kentaro was surprised by her vehemence.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" he asked.

"What choice do we have? At least this way we can get him a spouse visa until the sponsorship period is over and he becomes a full citizen. I'm not letting him go back to that fucked up place" she snarled.

"I'll be right there" he promised and hung up.

Ukyo spent the time stroking Mu Tzu's hair and willing him to wake up, then thought better of it because when he woke up she would have to tell him about Shampoo's final betrayal. "Just sleep, we'll figure something out" she whispered to him.

Kentaro exploded into Mu Tzu's hospital room with the force of a hurricane, dragging with him Aunt Suki, Mu Sheh and Mr. Tanaka, the craftiest immigration lawyer in al of Nerima. Kentaro looked at the injured boy and felt a wave of pity and love for him. He didn't see him as being his biggest rival to Ukyo's affections, but the emotionally fragile boy that he'd met sobbing in the street.

"Man he looks rough" Mu Sheh said in a causal sounding voice that he used to cover the rage.

Suki looked at him "who's he?" she asked them.

"The man Ukyo wants to marry" Kentaro said.

"But I thought that she wanted to marry Ranma?" she inquired confused.

"This is a little more important, they plan to deport him" Ukyo explained.

Suki looked from Kentaro to Ukyo "so you divorced Kentaro for a marriage of convenience?" she stated.

"Its more than that, Mu Tzu's special to me" Ukyo pleaded.

"So you needed me to sign your marriage form to give my permission for this? I don't think I want to Ukyo" she said.

"Would you rather I just move to China then?" she threatened.

"Ukyo, be reasonable. I just want you to be happy. Kentaro, try and talk her out of this" she pleaded.

"I can't, she's doing the right thing" he said standing next to Ukyo.

"Fine, I'll do it. But two conditions: 1. He has to get a proper education 2. You have to wear the wedding dress of my choosing to your wedding"

"Fine, yes to both things" Ukyo agreed.

Mr. Tanaka strode forward "that's good news for my client. I brought the paperwork with me, if you'll just sign here" he prompted and Suki reluctantly did. "Now what about his parent signature?" he asked.

"Leave that to me" Mu Sheh said and called his Aunt.

"I didn't know they had phones there?" Kentaro whispered.

Mu Sheh grimaced "yes they have phones, electricity and indoor plumbing. They're not that primitive" he admonished, he got his Aunt on the phone and explained the situation to her and she agreed to help. "Okay, now just go the library and give me the number there and I'll fax it to you. Then you just have to sign it and fax it back" he explained. "Good news, they just got a fax machine in the library. Quick, someone go to reception and find out the number of their fax machine" Mu Sheh ordered and Kentaro did as he was bid. Everyone waited breathlessly around the fax machine until it printed out the page.

"Okay, as it is a fax, then it's still considered to be a legal document. Now we just need the bride and groom to sign" Mr. Tanaka explained. Ukyo's head was pounding with nervousness and she couldn't look Kentaro in the eye. 'I love him' she realized 'and I'm about to marry someone else' she thought sadly while she signed the document.

Mu Tzu opened his eyes, noticed the room was full of people and thought he was dreaming. The pain killers they'd given him were strong. He giggled a bit when everyone started asking if he was okay at the same time and a pen was forced into his hand. "Sign this" Mu Sheh urged and he did. Mu Tzu, wondering why Mu Sheh was in his dream and why Ukyo looked like she was going to cry, then he put his head back down and fell back to sleep.

Kentaro and Ukyo shared a look and then he said "I bought these on the way over" he said and pulled out two baggies full of gold wedding bands. "I didn't know the sizes, so I just bought a bunch and can return the rest" he explained and pulled one out of the bag of woman's rings and tried it on her. It fit perfectly. "You look nice in a wedding ring" he observed, staring into her eyes.

"Ken?" she said softly.

He turned away abruptly "we need to find one that fits Mu Tzu now" he said in a falsely bright tone of voice. They tried a couple on him and finally found one that fit. Seeing Mu Tzu wearing a wedding ring, Ukyo gulped when the reality of the situation sunk in.

"We need to go register this at the government office and get his spouse visa approved" Mr. Tanaka suggested, leading Ukyo out.

Ukyo was surprised at how fast it went and that more documents weren't required. But then she noticed something. In order to get Mu Tzu's spouse visa, which was supposed to take several weeks, it was faxed directly to an official that Mr. Tanaka knew and then he spoke with him on the phone. "Hi Shinji, did you get the application that I faxed you? Good, now approve it or your wife finds out what you did with the hooker at last years Christmas party" he said with a wink at Ukyo. "I knew that you'd see the light" he said with a grin of triumph.

She could only stand there stunned as her handed her the Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage. She was married! "Congratulations Mrs. Mu. I ask that you don't reveal my unorthodox methods for getting what I want. Let's just say, I'm very dedicated to my clients and know a lot of secrets" he said with a mysterious smile.

Kentaro

Kentaro sat beside the bed watching Mu Tzu and wondering how he was going to take the news. Mu Tzu stirred and lifted his head. The first sight he saw was something glinting on his finger. He pulled his hand back and wondered about the gold band there. "Mu Tzu" he heard a gentle voice saying.

He turned his head "Kentaro!" he said happily. Then asked "what happened?"

"Shampoo beat you with a metal pole, Ukyo got you to the hospital and married you so that you wouldn't be deported" Kentaro explained in a rush.

"What do you mean she married me?" Mu Tzu asked stunned.

"Shampoo cancelled your visa and reported you as being here illegally. So they threatened to deport you and Ukyo chose to marry you to prevent that" Kentaro explained.

Mu Tzu pushed himself up as far as his wounds would allow "But she was meant to marry you, not me. You two love each other" he said quietly.

"Hey pal, you can't change Ukyo's mind when it's made up. You'll learn that in time" he said. "I guess you should take care of her for yourself now and not for me anymore" he said.

"But, I can divorce her and go back to China. Then I won't be in the way" he volunteered.

"Mu Tzu, we're all worked hard to keep you here, don't give up now. Sometimes people aren't meant to be together. Besides you need someone to care for and she needs a man of her own. Guess it kind of works out" he said. He excused himself when Mu Sheh came back from flirting with a nurse. He left the two cousins to get reacquainted and went outside to look at the blue, blue sky. "Goodbye Ukyo, I'll always love you" he thought and returned to his hotel room to allow the newly wedded couple time to themselves.

The Wedding Day

The wedding chapel that her mother managed to find on a couple of day's notice was small, but elegant. The confection of a wedding dress that she'd managed to dig up for Ukyo was not. Ukyo stood before the altar opposite a stiffly moving Mu Tzu, who wore a tuxedo on her mother's insistence. Ukyo smiled at him sheepishly amidst her full ballgown style wedding dress. Not only was there enough room under the skirt to fit a family of dwarves, but it had a long train too and there was enough beading and lace on the strapless bodice to make three gowns. The bodice displayed too much bosom for her to be comfortable with and the veil also has crystals all over it and was chapel length. The literal icing on the cake was the crystal tiara. Ukyo did look beautiful, but overdressed.

Mu Tzu had never felt so nervous in his life as he repeated the vows to the woman opposite him, sealing her fate to his. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked, but didn't say so as he suspected that her mother had chosen the dress. He glanced at Kentaro, who was acting as his best man. He just gave him the thumbs up, but glanced away while Mu Tzu and Ukyo exchanged their first kiss as husband and wife.

The priest said that they could kiss "are you sure?" Mu Tzu whispered.

"Kiss me Sugar" she said putting her arms around his neck carefully. He did and all doubts flew away from him while he kissed her.

They had a small banquet at Ukyo's restaurant and everyone wisely left when Mu Tzu started to fade. "Come on Sugar, lets get you to bed" she said and helped the ashen faced boy to stand. Mu Tzu eyes widened when she took him into her bedroom and opened her closet to get a hanger, he was surprised to see his clothes hanging beside hers. Then he realized that this was his room too now and that he was actually married. He vowed that he would be the best husband he could be to her.

With little protest, Ukyo helped Mu Tzu out of his tux; she noted that it probably would have been more comfortable for him to marry in tradition Chinese robes with his injuries. But none could be located on short notice. Wearing just his underwear she eased him onto the bed. "I have something for you" she said and handed him a box.

He opened it and gasped in surprise when it was a new hidden weapons master cloak. "Where did you get it?" he asked.

"I had it copied from the original by a Chinese seamstress. I hope it's accurate; she assured me that she used the exact same fabrics" Ukyo said hesitantly. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, this is the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me. Well besides giving up her dating freedom for me" he said looking her in the eye.

"Dating is so overrated Sugar. Perhaps I just didn't want to be single?" she said to him.

"You could have married someone else" he said cryptically.

"I married a wonderful guy and let's leave it at that. Besides, you got the cute fiancée" she said in an ironic tone of voice.

"I got the nicest wife I could have ever hoped for" he replied and leaned forward to kiss her, only to wince when that bothered his wounds.

She helped him lie down on his undamaged side and spooned against him while he slept, as if she could heal his broken body the way she'd healed his broken heart. She lay beside him, his soft skin cradled against her own and listened to his even breaths and she felt contented. What was between them was more like a gently, crackling fire then red hot blaze and that was enough for Ukyo.

What Happened with the Deportation

The officer showed up to deliver the deportation order to Mu Tzu, only to find the hospital door room blocked by the infamous Mr. Tanaka. "Hello Goro, how's that mistress of yours doing? I bet your wife still doesn't know about her?" he said. Goro could feel himself turning white. Mr. Tanaka leaned closer "Good, I guess you want to forget all about that crank phone call someone made you to concerning my client not being here legally and congratulate the happy couple on their marriage?" Goro glared at Mr. Tanaka and ripped up the deportation order. Then he returned to his office to write a false report that the caller was wrong.

Ukyo watched as Mu Tzu did up his new school uniform, he looked nervous but gorgeous. She wrinkled her nose as she pulled on her new female one. Her mother had insisted, stating that she couldn't very well make her husband look like a homosexual and Ukyo had agreed for once. They'd crammed hard for his acceptance tests and were glad of his photographic memory and natural brilliance. It turned out that he had a genius level I.Q.

"You ready?" she asked.

"What if no one likes me?" he asked nervously.

"Nonsense Sugar, what's not to like? You're handsome, smart, fun to be with and a tiger in bed" she said, watching him blush. She straightened his collar and held out her hand. "Come on Airen, Furinkan High awaits" she said.

He took her hand and the two of them walked forward towards his new life.


End file.
